Word: deadpan
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...story’s weaknesses, ranging from a collective memory stored in one’s genes to the suggestion that the real narrator might be a teenage Christopher forging his past. The novel runs more smoothly when the bizarre, the supernatural, and the downright impossible are delivered deadpan and unexplained. In this mode we meet a kaleidoscopic whirl of characters: scientist grandparents who invent an Inconsumable Taco to end Mexican hunger, man-eating apocalyptic coyotes, and Machiavellian politicians who hide microchips in sugar to read opponents’ minds over morning coffee. Christopher’s voice leaps...
...front of the condominium where old couples like themselves walk in careful slow motion at the water's edge. Since the case became a cause, photographs of the Gilberts have appeared on television, she in formal gown, he in tails; they, older, in a restaurant posing deadpan for a picture for no reason, the way people do in restaurants. In a way the issue here is age: mind and body falling away like slabs of sand off a beach cliff. If biology declares war, have people no right to a pre-emptive strike? In the apartment he continues to stare...
...turned a daffy concept for a novel into a stimulating display of wit, erudition, humanity and narrative force. He weaves his diverse strands with cunning and charm and adroitly sustains suspense in what could easily have been a one-joke story. Part of his persuasive technique is an absolutely deadpan, matter-of-fact tone. Another part is the structure of the book as mystery, in which events are explained long after they happen...
...Humor Anonymous Lawyer www.anonymouslawyer.blogspot.com Deadpan and ironic, this delicious insider account of life at a big law firm is pure fiction-and should be required reading for attorneys who haven't yet learned how to laugh at themselves. Being a lawyer, according to the author, boils down to "fooling clients into believing [we] have some real expertise and using fear and manipulation to extort excessive hourly fees." He rails against idiot clients, partners and associates, admitting "you can't work at a place like this and have integrity." But he's not offering apologies, only rationalizations. What separates him from...
...intentional overstuffing of lines works the first few times, but these moments of excess and exuberance could stay much sharper and fresher if only A + P would show more restraint in their quantity and delivery of them. When vocalist Alan J. Wilkis ’04 is deadpan, his lyrics shine all the more for the unglossed quality of his voice...