'I am greatly relieved that the universe is finally explainable. I was beginning to think it was me.' Thus begins 'Strung Out', Woody Allen's hilarious application of the laws of the universe to daily life. "Mere Anarchy", Woody Allen's first new collection in over 25 years, features eighteen witty, wild and intelligent comic pieces - eight of which have never been in print before. Surreal, absurd, rich in verbal play, bitingly satirical and just plan daft in the mode we have grown to love from his finest films, this flight-of-fancy collection includes tales of a body double who, mistaken for the film's star, is kidnapped by outlaws; a pretentious novelist forced to work on the novelisation of a Three Stooges film; a nanny secretly writing an expose of her Manhattan employers; crooks selling bespoke prayers on eBay; and how to react when you're asked to finance a Broadway play about the invention and manufacture of the adjustable showerhead.

伍迪·艾伦（Woody Allen，1935- ），

美国著名电影导演、编剧、演员、音乐家、作家和戏剧家。

一九三五年在纽约出生。自一九六五年以来，平均每年至少推出一部电影，多为自编自导和自演的喜剧作品。他的创作灵感，多来自文学、哲学、心理学和电影历史，还有他的犹太人身份。他的电影获奖无数，其中包括四项奥斯卡奖、九项英国电影和电视艺术学院奖，以及两项金球奖。

伍迪·艾伦是《纽约客》杂志独树一帜的撰稿人，出版文集《扯平》、《不长羽毛》、《副作用》和《乱象丛生》，及戏剧集《中央公园西路》等。