With the resilience of a cockroach after a nuclear winter, Woody Allen’s memoir has regenerated and has been released by Arcade Publishing, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, according to AP. The release of the memoir, Apropos of Nothing, comes after Allen’s original publisher, Hatchette, was shamed into dropping the accused sex offender’s book. After Hatchette announced their intent to publish Allen’s “comprehensive and personal account” of his life, several employees staged a walkout in “solidarity” with survivors of sexual assault, while Ronan Farrow, whose book Catch and Kill was published by Hatchette just last year, cut ties with his publisher. Still, the book lives on The grossness of the memoir is punctuated by the fact that the book is dedicated to Allen’s current wife Soon-Yi Previn, who happens to be the daughter of his first wife, Mia Farrow.
According to an announcement by Arcade Publishing, the memoir covers the entirety of Allen’s life from childhood to his film career, “exploring his relationships with family and friends.” That exploration, however, reportedly was not comprehensive: the publisher reportedly did not contact Dylan Farrow, Allen’s daughter, to fact-check Allen’s retelling of their time together, during which Dylan claims Allen molested her. On this portion of the memoir, Hillel Italie of AP writes, “It darkens and becomes defensive, not surprisingly, as he recalls his relationship with Mia Farrow and the allegations he abused daughter Dylan Farrow that for many have come to define his public image in recent years.”
Excerpts of the memoir suggest Allen is engaging in the most shallow form of self-reflection. In one section of the book, Allen writes, “I can’t deny that it plays into my poetic fantasies to be an artist whose work isn’t seen in his own country and is forced, because of injustice, to have his public abroad. Henry Miller comes to mind. D.H. Lawrence. James Joyce. I see myself standing amongst them defiantly.” An editor at Arcade publishing said in a statement, “We as publishers prefer to give voice to a respected artist, rather than bow to those determined to silence him.” It seems Allen, who has used his power and status to ensure stories like Dylan Farrow’s go unheard and unbelieved, has found a publisher willing to swallow the entire jug of his Kool-Aid.