A Summary of an Unwritten Story

A celebrity party cruise goes down in the Pacific. Two survivors make it to a nearby island: comedian Bob Zany and German badminton champion Hans Goefflingmeyer. This situation becomes a classic good news-bad news scenario for Zany. Although Hans is a lifelong bully, he labors diligently, albeit silently, as the two survivors build homes, haul water, and hunt for food. Then Hans begins work on what looks to be a large platform with a primitive bench in front of it. Zany helps out, though he is unclear why such a platform is needed.

Once the platform is built, Hans proceeds to go insane for exactly one hour a day—always at nightfall. He begins speaking, but only to insist that Zany get on stage and perform a faux Tonight Show 5 nights a week while Hans watches from the bench. As Hans is a world-class athlete, Zany has little choice but to comply. The badminton champ is a good audience, laughing uproariously at Zany’s material. But insanity has not affected his memory or his passion for entertainment, and thus Zany is beaten senseless whenever he repeats a joke or states aloud that he isn’t really interviewing, say, Ally Sheedy.

Although it becomes clear that the 2 castaways will never be rescued, we learn much about the human condition by observing their behavior. It is unlikely that readers will ever laugh the same way again.