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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book surprised, astounded, and affected me. I expected to like it, but not nearly as much as I did. It was absolutely and utterly amazing. Deeply personal and yet funny, it has probably everything I want in a book and more. I’ve been trying to read more books by women to uncover the literary histories *know* exist but are neither taught nor widely available. This book emphasizes the exquisite pain of that. I LOVE this book — it is absolutely a work of genius, humor, critical reflection and thought — exactly what I wanted to find women writing. I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to find, however, and wish more people knew its name. Absolutely a joy!
The book jacket promises “the romantic and comedic adventures of a young American who heads overseas to conquer Paris in the last 1950s. [Other authors] wrote about the American girl abroad, but it was Dundy’s Sally Jay Gorce who told us what she was really thinking. Charming, sexy, and hilarious…”
That’ll teach me to believe a book jacket or publisher’s blurb.
In fairness, I think the whole concept would be considered romantic and comedic in the late 1950s (originally published in 1958). But I don’t think it really translates well today, when readers have been entertained by Sex and the City and the reality TV (and internet) escapades of Paris Hilton and the Kardashians. It’s not bold enough, or shocking enough, or entertaining enough.
Sally is an ingenue, and somewhat naïve, but she is full of life and eager to experience all of it. Bankrolled by a wealthy uncle, she has two years of freedom in Paris to do whatever she wants and she rushes headlong into whatever strikes her fancy – mistress to an Italian diplomat, acting in a play, posing for photographers, playing an extra in a movie, drinking champagne and dancing the flamenco. She seems never to have the right outfit for the occasion, but that doesn’t stop her. She stumbled from one mess to another, but manages always to land on her feet. She falls in love with one wrong man after another, but escapes unscathed (and apparently not learning her lesson very quickly, either).
There are some scenes where Dundy really captures my attention – the way she describes a perfect cocktail, or the guests at a dinner party, for example – but I was bored with most of it. Sally has no real purpose and I just didn’t care what happened to her or her “friends.”
That’ll teach me to believe a book jacket or publisher’s blurb.
In fairness, I think the whole concept would be considered romantic and comedic in the late 1950s (originally published in 1958). But I don’t think it really translates well today, when readers have been entertained by Sex and the City and the reality TV (and internet) escapades of Paris Hilton and the Kardashians. It’s not bold enough, or shocking enough, or entertaining enough.
Sally is an ingenue, and somewhat naïve, but she is full of life and eager to experience all of it. Bankrolled by a wealthy uncle, she has two years of freedom in Paris to do whatever she wants and she rushes headlong into whatever strikes her fancy – mistress to an Italian diplomat, acting in a play, posing for photographers, playing an extra in a movie, drinking champagne and dancing the flamenco. She seems never to have the right outfit for the occasion, but that doesn’t stop her. She stumbled from one mess to another, but manages always to land on her feet. She falls in love with one wrong man after another, but escapes unscathed (and apparently not learning her lesson very quickly, either).
There are some scenes where Dundy really captures my attention – the way she describes a perfect cocktail, or the guests at a dinner party, for example – but I was bored with most of it. Sally has no real purpose and I just didn’t care what happened to her or her “friends.”
you just have abandon some books because they are so boring that you'd rather watch 'keeping up with the kardashians.' this is one of those books. so i'll leave it at the 100th page (see, i gave it a chance) and come back to it after i don't know, a decade?
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Funny - I don't know that Elaine Dundy's The Dud Avocado quite lives up to the hype (the introduction describes it as the great continuously lost and refound classic), but there's enough exuberant charm and standout moments in this take on Paris that time with this novel is time well spent. The Paris itself is exquisitely captured as farce and fantasy. A great book to give to a young person spending time there abroad.
not motivated to finish, Libby book was returned.
Nothing with the book. Timing just didn’t work out. I definitely want to circle back to this soon!
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes