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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
Enjoyed most of her stories..wish she had written an autobiography.
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I only read from page 445 to the end. Her short stories take up the first several hundred pages. They are dry and boring and contain not a hint of her trademark wit, so I skipped them.
The miscellaneous non-fiction pieces at the back of the book are the jewels in her scribbler's crown. Book reviews, theater critiques, magazine articles, and private letters -- a cornucopia of her peculiar observations and famed turns of phrase. Parker was a very funny lady, and a brutally honest one as well. Her writing has barbs, but it's all in fun, and she's just as likely to pick on herself as on anyone else.
Alexander Woollcott once affectionately said of Dorothy Parker: "That bird only sings when she's unhappy." True perhaps, but what a voice. Forget the short stories. Read the non-fiction. Her style hums with more personality than any writer I've ever read.
The miscellaneous non-fiction pieces at the back of the book are the jewels in her scribbler's crown. Book reviews, theater critiques, magazine articles, and private letters -- a cornucopia of her peculiar observations and famed turns of phrase. Parker was a very funny lady, and a brutally honest one as well. Her writing has barbs, but it's all in fun, and she's just as likely to pick on herself as on anyone else.
Alexander Woollcott once affectionately said of Dorothy Parker: "That bird only sings when she's unhappy." True perhaps, but what a voice. Forget the short stories. Read the non-fiction. Her style hums with more personality than any writer I've ever read.
The Audio version of "The Telephone Call" just had me in tears. It was the last story and after hours of snappish and witty fun, BAM, there is this story that I can so relate to told in a voice that sounds so much like mine, lost, in pain, desperate. My God, the best short ever written...at least for any woman that has experienced a break-up or an uncertain relationship. I would love to say that I haven't felt that desperate for a phone call, that I hadn't started making deals with a God that I no longer believe in, or I haven't made deals with myself to wait X number of minutes, but I can't.
I found this entire collection completely engrossing. I couldn't put it down. I always knew Parker for her witticisms, but the depth and subtlety of her short stories blew me away. The social critiques still ring true today. Her poetry is straightforward and easy to understand, and often funny. Even her reviews of books and plays, many of which I had never heard, were a joy to read because she injects so much personality into them. I wish there was more.
3.5 Stars
Despite the title, this book is not very portable. The beginning, which is the original 'portable' collection, and the ending, which is a collection of get writings and reviews in several magazines, are the strongest and most enjoyable sections.
The middle collections are much more hot and miss for me on the stories. It could be the organization, or the way I was reading them (one it two a day before bed). But towards the end all the short stories seemed to hit the same note, that was a little too short on every character for my taste. They left me with the impression that she didn't particular like the people she was writng about, and the women in particular. This may be the case, but it was old after awhile. The switch to the reviews was a relief.
Ultimately, it was my struggles with the middle section the made me knock off a star.
Despite the title, this book is not very portable. The beginning, which is the original 'portable' collection, and the ending, which is a collection of get writings and reviews in several magazines, are the strongest and most enjoyable sections.
The middle collections are much more hot and miss for me on the stories. It could be the organization, or the way I was reading them (one it two a day before bed). But towards the end all the short stories seemed to hit the same note, that was a little too short on every character for my taste. They left me with the impression that she didn't particular like the people she was writng about, and the women in particular. This may be the case, but it was old after awhile. The switch to the reviews was a relief.
Ultimately, it was my struggles with the middle section the made me knock off a star.
Pretty much everything in The Portable Dorothy Parker is an enjoyable read. Dorothy Parker's poetry is extremely clever and often scathing - although the themes are quite repetitive when the poems are put all together like this, so you may want to break up your reading. Looooots of love-gone-wrong, and, warning, a fair amount of suicidal ideation. But: the real stars of this compilation are the short stories.
I-Am-Insufferable alert: I have been know to make people sit down with my copy and read "The Game" on the spot, because it is amazing. It snaps from witty and frivolous to spooky and intense and the pacing/plotting is genius. I'm getting chills just thinking about it! Ahhh! "The Game" was originally published in Cosmopolitan magazine (apparently once upon a time they published literary fiction, how strange) and this compilation might be the only place to find it now, as brief internet searches have turned up nothing. I'd almost say it's worth it to get this compilation just for that story! And, I mean, this is a solid, clever collection of poems and stories, you won't be disappointed.
I-Am-Insufferable alert: I have been know to make people sit down with my copy and read "The Game" on the spot, because it is amazing. It snaps from witty and frivolous to spooky and intense and the pacing/plotting is genius. I'm getting chills just thinking about it! Ahhh! "The Game" was originally published in Cosmopolitan magazine (apparently once upon a time they published literary fiction, how strange) and this compilation might be the only place to find it now, as brief internet searches have turned up nothing. I'd almost say it's worth it to get this compilation just for that story! And, I mean, this is a solid, clever collection of poems and stories, you won't be disappointed.