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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
3.5
While this fully admits to being dated, and despite being genuinely funny at times, the book(s) as a whole feel a bit aimless. I certainly laughed aloud and wanted to highlight bits and pieces, but there wasn’t a strong sense of purpose here. Maybe it’s not the point, but it made it a slower and tougher read. It is still relevant in a lot of its overarching observations but bogged down by that which the world has evolved past, which I suppose can’t be helped. Lebowtiz really is that prototypical New Yorker that so many have come to expect…salty about just about everyone’s choices (good or bad) but deeply committed to her own.
Despite her literary prowess, I find Lebowitz much more compelling to watch/listen to than read. The humor scans a bit differently and the tongue in cheek aspect comes out better in her interviews and talks, which is actually how I came to first experience her work. It’s worth it to listen to some of her more updated talks as that acerbic wit has certainly not diminished, but the contemporary reader may be better able to digest her opinions when they relate to things we actually understand!
While this fully admits to being dated, and despite being genuinely funny at times, the book(s) as a whole feel a bit aimless. I certainly laughed aloud and wanted to highlight bits and pieces, but there wasn’t a strong sense of purpose here. Maybe it’s not the point, but it made it a slower and tougher read. It is still relevant in a lot of its overarching observations but bogged down by that which the world has evolved past, which I suppose can’t be helped. Lebowtiz really is that prototypical New Yorker that so many have come to expect…salty about just about everyone’s choices (good or bad) but deeply committed to her own.
Despite her literary prowess, I find Lebowitz much more compelling to watch/listen to than read. The humor scans a bit differently and the tongue in cheek aspect comes out better in her interviews and talks, which is actually how I came to first experience her work. It’s worth it to listen to some of her more updated talks as that acerbic wit has certainly not diminished, but the contemporary reader may be better able to digest her opinions when they relate to things we actually understand!
Fran is an amazing writer but her works as a collection end up being page after page of albeit sharp-witted whingeing- she’s GREAT, but it’s a lot to take in. Prob much better digested on a one-a-week diet.
I enjoyed Lebowitz’s sardonic wit and snark. At times it could be a bit much but that’s more a consequence of reading so much of it in one sitting. This is probably one of those books that is better consumed in small bits, an essay or two at a time say. Still, as an intro to her style, this works well.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
My favorite sections in this collection are Manners and Places; both, on the whole, quite funny with certain essays and passages that really stick out and make you laugh.
At some point in the second section, Science, I got tired of the repetitive formula that starts with Lebowitz stating a problem she has found in society, leading in to her stating she has found the solution, followed by essentially a few expanded bullet points outlining her solution. These essays are short and sometimes witty, but piled together like this made for an exhausting read. Luckily, the excitement and change in format picks back up in later sections.
I do also feel that Lebowitz being pretty upper class and me not so much made some of her humor not all that humorous to me.
At some point in the second section, Science, I got tired of the repetitive formula that starts with Lebowitz stating a problem she has found in society, leading in to her stating she has found the solution, followed by essentially a few expanded bullet points outlining her solution. These essays are short and sometimes witty, but piled together like this made for an exhausting read. Luckily, the excitement and change in format picks back up in later sections.
I do also feel that Lebowitz being pretty upper class and me not so much made some of her humor not all that humorous to me.
Took me a while to get through but certainly transformed the way I write. Reading Lebowitz’s work really opened up my mind to humorist writing and allowed me to explore those techniques in my writing. Some of the references are very dated but, as she writes in the introduction, she should not be burdened by timeliness.
I love Fran Lebowitz and her eloquence. But I do prefer her (public) speaking to her writing. Albeit witty in its own way, I found many of the essays' structure to be rather formulaic . They just didn't have the same effect as her hitting the nail on the head answering an audience/interview question. To be fair, many references are specific to niche circles in a country and time period foreign to me, so under different circumstances I might've found this hilarious. This also isn't a "regular" book you read in one go, which definitely has advantages. However, if she does finish a novel one day (probably unlikely) I think I'd be somewhat intrigued.
Spoiler
(the last one was probably my favourite because I found it most reminiscent of her style during speaking gigs)
funny
fast-paced
3.5
Oh, Fran! Yeah I think Fran Lebowitz is very funny, and I like her a lot. A lot of really good laughs in the book (like, genuinely laugh out loud! At a book! That doesn’t happen too often!) but being a 300+ page collection of essays that probably average around 3 pages… well, it gets to be a bit tedious. One other review of this book said, like, meant to be flipped through, not read straight through and they’re definitely right. I kinda did somewhere in between? So it wasn’t too bad?
Oh, Fran! Yeah I think Fran Lebowitz is very funny, and I like her a lot. A lot of really good laughs in the book (like, genuinely laugh out loud! At a book! That doesn’t happen too often!) but being a 300+ page collection of essays that probably average around 3 pages… well, it gets to be a bit tedious. One other review of this book said, like, meant to be flipped through, not read straight through and they’re definitely right. I kinda did somewhere in between? So it wasn’t too bad?
I wanted to like it, but I just don't. There's nothing for me to get hold of. Maybe another time.