Hello Goodbye Hello

In this expansive game of “six degrees,” British humorist Brown (The Lost Diaries) chronicles a loop of 101 remarkable celebrity meetings beginning and ending with Adolf Hitler. From the unexpected (Helen Keller and Martha Graham) to the legendary (Elvis Presley and Paul McCartney) or the strangely fitting (Groucho Marx and Charlie Chaplin), the stories unfold as succinct anecdotes, many notable for their bizarre context. Dozens of chance encounters, fast friendships, and dire rivalries are recounted in an informal yet informative manner, tying together oft-disparate threads of the 20th century through some of its most distinguished participants. With each story leading to the next (Leonard Cohen shares an elevator with Janis Joplin, who befriends Patti Smith, who had recently encountered Allen Ginsberg, and so on) it’s easy to see this as popcorn reading, but it’s impossible to stop with just one story. Brown also structures his gimmick by limiting each story to 1,001 words, though footnotes aplenty add more spice to the mix. Given the author’s origins, it’s not surprising there’s a mild bias toward European notables—some of whom might not be familiar to American audiences—however, no character is too odd nor any encounter too trivial to be included. Entertaining, enlightening, shameless, and humorous: this collection sheds light on the life and times of some strange, wonderful, and notorious personalities. Agent: Zoë Pagnamenta, Zoe Pagnamenta Agency. (Aug)