This was given to me by accident but sometimes that is the best way of discovering interesting things. I am a massive Herzog fan but I was skeptical about reading something by him, if only because I have a couple of pretty firmly held beliefs about artists that would lead me to be wary of such an enterprise: a) good and great artists are assholes more often than not b) just because someone is good at one or more artforms, doesn't make that person good at many. But to my surprise this "diary" is a fascinating, illuminating and surprisingly funny read. Certainly more entertaining than any diary I have ever written. It is very much like a novel, in that it is episodic, and Herzog mixes in dreams and random snippets of past news with the daily reality. As such it overcomes its own origins and stands as something special; worth reading even if you have never seen Fitzcarraldo or don't even know what it is.
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Stig Björkman is quite an expert of film and therefore delivers an outrageously professional interview. But still, the interviewer stays humble, asking questions showing a profound knowledge of the subject. Since Woody Allen is very good at answering in a direct but well thought about way, it never gets boring and never seems primitive that the book is written simply in direct discourse.
What I personally appreciate as well is that the talk is purely about film and about Woody Allen as an artist - his private life does not enter unless it is closely related to the discussed subjects. So you get a very relevant view to Woody Allen's career. I highly recommend it to all the Allen's fans out there who have not yet managed to read it.
