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A review by lelia_t
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady by Anita Loos
3.0
I didn’t know what to make of this book at first, being completely taken aback by Lorelei’s air-headed ditziness, but by the end I was absolutely rooting for her. She has some great lines - as does her friend Dorothy. And I found myself enjoying her more once I realized, along with a certain psychoanalyst she visits, that Lorelei is doing exactly what she wants to do.
By chance I’m rereading King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes at the same time, which sheds some light on the art of “playing the game.” Despentes writes: “Seduction is a stratagem open to lots of young women as long as they play the game, since it mostly consists of reassuring men about their masculinity by playing the game of femininity. To make a profit from it requires a more specific sociological profile, and qualities that are somewhat rarer.”
Lorelei has made a fine art of those qualities. As she says, “Because I always think that spending money is only just a habit and if you get a gentleman started on buying one dozen orchids at a time he really gets very good habits.”
By chance I’m rereading King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes at the same time, which sheds some light on the art of “playing the game.” Despentes writes: “Seduction is a stratagem open to lots of young women as long as they play the game, since it mostly consists of reassuring men about their masculinity by playing the game of femininity. To make a profit from it requires a more specific sociological profile, and qualities that are somewhat rarer.”
Lorelei has made a fine art of those qualities. As she says, “Because I always think that spending money is only just a habit and if you get a gentleman started on buying one dozen orchids at a time he really gets very good habits.”