Particularize Regarding Books The Portable Dorothy Parker
| Title | : | The Portable Dorothy Parker |
| Author | : | Dorothy Parker |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Revised and Enlarged Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 610 pages |
| Published | : | December 9th 1976 by Penguin Books (first published May 1944) |
| Categories | : | Poetry. Short Stories. Fiction. Classics. Humor. Writing. Essays |
Dorothy Parker
Paperback | Pages: 610 pages Rating: 4.34 | 11111 Users | 537 Reviews
Narrative In Pursuance Of Books The Portable Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker, renowned wit, critic, poet and short-story writer. Take note of that order. Picasso once said of Cézanne that he was 'the father of us all'. Well, in similar terms, Dorothy Parker is my biological mother. Which makes me Picasso I guess, which I'll take. Parker's book reviews are the finest of the form. She was truly the queen of mean. As 'The Constant Reader' she praised and demolished the latest novels with such wit and grace that oftentimes the review was better than the work is discussed. She often filled her reviews with stories of her personal life or stray observations on society. Despite dying in 1967, her vicious tongue has never been equalled. I view Dorothy Parker as my greatest influence. As many people light candles in front of the Sacred Heart, I follow a similar regime with Parker, muttering incantations in front of her image and never gazing too long into her eyes. Thus The Portable Dorothy Parker is a volume which I believed would be a fitting replacement for the Holy Book. Which it somewhat is. In that it only gets really good near the end and you spend most of your time skipping over the bad bits. You see The Portable Dorothy Parker would be better titled The Short Stories of Dorothy Parker, interspersed by her Poetry with a paltry sampling of her Criticism, Reviews, Letters and Interviews. I am first to admit that I am not a huge fan of Parker's short stories. Don't get me wrong, she had many wonderful stories: Big Blonde, Arrangement in Black and White, The Waltz, From the Diary of a New York Lady and The Game are some shining examples. But almost five-hundred pages of this six-hundred page volume are dedicated to her stories, many of which are just not good. There's a reason why we don't immediately think 'short story writer' when we hear Parker's name. I feel the term 'hit and miss' was coined specifically for her short fiction. Those that hit are blinding critiques of early-20th century society, full of one-liners and characters which are equally as devastating. The misses are unreadable. Nothing much being written about nothing much. Therefore at time this volume is an absolute pain to get through, whilst at other times you want to rip each page out and frame them along a staircase. Most of my praise for this volume comes from the measly hundred pages dedicated to her non-fiction. This is where Parker Comes Alive! Such glittering meanness from the mouth of the poison Madonna. It depresses me so much. I'll never be her. The best I can do is plagiarise, which has served me quite well for many years. Sometime during my twenties I'll probably get a Dorothy Parker quote tattooed onto my skin, right next to my stigmata. Overall The Portable Dorothy Parker is a somewhat skewed collection of her finest writings. There is absolute gold in here, but one must sift through the mud first. Perhaps it is one for the fans.Details Books Conducive To The Portable Dorothy Parker
| Original Title: | The Viking Portable Library: Dorothy Parker |
| ISBN: | 0140150749 (ISBN13: 9780140150742) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Regarding Books The Portable Dorothy Parker
Ratings: 4.34 From 11111 Users | 537 ReviewsEvaluate Regarding Books The Portable Dorothy Parker
No Rating. I read the select parts I was interested in this time. Her shorter poems I find to be fetching. Tart, witty, cynical but all human and humane. I read her best known short story "Big Blonde," an autobiographical, at least in part, writing. Great interview she gave for the The Paris Review. I have other titles waiting in my to-read queue, so I'll return and give a fuller reading.Well, I know just how she feels, which might be why I don't always enjoy this stuff so much. Reading Parker is a bit like having an IM conversation with myself, if I were a lot smarter, a much better writer, and a way bigger alcoholic.
It's not that portable, but Dorothy Parker's a bracing companion for travel, and well worth the bother of lugging her around. I love how mean she was, and she was a fabulous letter-writer: funny, frank and gossipy. Her poetry and short stories do get a bit samey when read all at one go -- themes recur -- but she's such an entertaining writer that it doesn't much matter.It pleases me that she took up the mantle when P. G. Wodehouse stopped reviewing drama for -- hm, some magazine or the other.
"Big Blonde" is the best story in the book, and one of the greatest short stories ever written. Dorothy Parker is the greatest chick-lit writer of all time. If you like Louise Brooks movies you will kiss Dorothy's literary feet!
I am so glad that I read this book!I have read some of Dorothy Parker's verse (who has not?), and some anecdotes from her life and was intrigued by her. This volume includes verse (she did not consider her writings "poetry"), short stories, magazine articles, book and theatre reviews and a collection of letters. The short stories were my favorite part! Her style is very heavy on dialogue, including internal dialogue, and not very narrative. I feel like it gives her stories a unique rhythm and
Witty? Hmmm, how about erudite, clever, and ahead of her time... Dorothy Parker had much to say about 20th century married life and said so when such things were not talked about. She was known as the "wittiest woman in America" and after reading this collection of her work I understand why she disliked the moniker. Her stories read more bittersweet than witty and are a glimpse into an era with rigid roles.
After I wrote a particularly scathing review of the unedited re-release of Apocalypse Now for my Critical Reviewing class in college (actual line from the review: "Around the third hour or so, I became convinced that the real genius of this film was not Coppola himself but rather the person who forced him to cut at least an hour out of Apocalypse Now in the first place"), my professor compared me to Dorothy Parker. Or maybe he just suggested I read her, but my ego prefers the first version.
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