Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
I must admit that this book was initially intimidating. Short stories? Repetitive. Poetry? Boring. Reviews? Ugh. But I was wrong, so very wrong, in all of my assumptions. In short, Dorothy Parker blew my mind. She is cynical with a heapful of dark humor.
The only part of this collection that I had difficuly with were her play reviews (but I believe I may have come down with a nasty case of the rams before reading them. I vaguely remember bad celery and being followed by a beaver). I felt they were lacking and it took me forever to get through them. Her book reviews on the other hand were a pleasant surprise. They were hilarious. I did not think that I would have, or could have any interest in a review of a book that I have never heard of, but Dorothy Parker makes it possible.
The only part of this collection that I had difficuly with were her play reviews (but I believe I may have come down with a nasty case of the rams before reading them. I vaguely remember bad celery and being followed by a beaver). I felt they were lacking and it took me forever to get through them. Her book reviews on the other hand were a pleasant surprise. They were hilarious. I did not think that I would have, or could have any interest in a review of a book that I have never heard of, but Dorothy Parker makes it possible.
funny
medium-paced
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Dorothy Parker is a genius of the short form, her intelligence is sharp and biting, her humor is dark and quick. There are examples in this book of some of THE BEST short stories to ever be put to paper, there are examples of misses, there are examples of stories and poetry that feel dated, and then there section of her reviews - great reviews, but I don't value written critiques the same way I value original writing. All to say there are highs, lows, and the middling points, so a middling rating is what we are left with.
Parker has a distinct voice that I realize now I have seen replicated since her time, but no one else did it so well. Her poetry can be the bleakest form of romance, but also the funniest version of anti-romance. Parker's poetry often dealt with romantic disappointment and she mocked it - HARD.
Parker has a distinct voice that I realize now I have seen replicated since her time, but no one else did it so well. Her poetry can be the bleakest form of romance, but also the funniest version of anti-romance. Parker's poetry often dealt with romantic disappointment and she mocked it - HARD.
To A Much Too Unfortunate Unfortunate Lady
He will love you presently
If you be the way you be.
Send your heart a-skittering.
He will stoop, and lift the thing.
Be your dreams as thread, to tease
Into patterns he shall please.
Let him see your passion is
Ever tenderer than his....
Go and bless your star above,
Thus are you, and thus is Love.
He will leave you white with woe,
If you go the way you go.
If your dreams were thread to weave
He will pluck them from his sleeve.
If your heart had come to rest,
He will flick it from his breast.
Tender though the love he bore,
You had loved a little more....
Lady, go and curse your star,
Thus Love is, and thus you are.
As entertaining as I found some of her poetry and critiques, some of the short stories are where some of the real darkness and brilliance lives. Big Blonde was some tragic, subtle writing that I wasn't expecting, sneaky good writing - reads like a master class in the short form, not one word wasted. The twisted darkness of The Game is another example, she can build the tension in a few pages, twist the plot, build the characters, and blow it all up in just a few words - LOVE IT. This being said, not all Parker short stories are created equal.
Loved some of it, enjoyed some, and felt indifferent to other parts. Every page of brilliance is worth a large quantity of lackluster - and just to be clear even the most lackluster of Dorothy Parker is still great writing, perhaps the biggest issue is how it compares with her best work. While I do not think there is too much Dorothy Parker, I do think there can be too much Dorothy Parker in one binding.
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
The whole point of making it through this collection without antidepressants is to prove to yourself that you can do exactly that. The bitter laughter starts with her nonfiction (which is my favorite I think) and becomes more forced as you make your way through her poetry and short stories, until you're not laughing any more.
I enjoyed some poems here and there. They were no doubt beautifully written, but because of Parker’s troubling life struggling with trauma and mental illness a lot of them were extremely negative, pessimistic, and draining to read.. in this case i just didn’t agree with her views on life and other people.
I didn’t quite like the short stories either, the formatting was weird and they didn’t appeal to me. But who knows, maybe i’ll come back to them another time.
I didn’t quite like the short stories either, the formatting was weird and they didn’t appeal to me. But who knows, maybe i’ll come back to them another time.
I've been reading bits and pieces of this collection of short stories, poetry, essays and literary criticism over the last year or so. I really love Parker's sonnets especially, but also her funny little pointed verses and her general punchy attitude.
What a sharp wit Dorothy Parker has! Sometimes people gush about someone and you find out the humor is not quite your taste. Sometimes a humorist had people rolling with laughter in the mid 1920s and by near 1920s it's all dates and weird.
But Dorothy Parker is still a sharp tongue and a snappy commentator on gender relations, social classes and herself.
I just wish I'd have a poetry-inclined brain, or I'd enjoy her light verse as well.
But Dorothy Parker is still a sharp tongue and a snappy commentator on gender relations, social classes and herself.
I just wish I'd have a poetry-inclined brain, or I'd enjoy her light verse as well.