Describe Epithetical 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
Representaion Concering 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.
Itemize Books During The Portable Dorothy Parker
| Original Title: | The Viking Portable Library: Dorothy Parker |
| ISBN: | 0140150749 (ISBN13: 9780140150742) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Epithetical Books The Portable Dorothy Parker
Ratings: 4.34 From 11111 Users | 537 ReviewsEvaluation Epithetical Books The Portable Dorothy Parker
3-3.5I love Dorothy Parkers wit. I really enjoyed some of the stories, and others felt like they droned on and were similar to previous stories. I think eliminating some of the stories or not reading this book all at once, but a story once in awhile would remedy that problem. The end of the book is interesting and more serious. It speaks to DP's political statements. I may try to read this again, breaking it up into small pieces, one story every once in awhile. I think it's an important piece ofWell, 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.
This portable library of short stories, poems and reviews by the author, poet and critic Dorothy Parker was loaned by a friend who attached the following advice: "Parker might be best digested one bite at a time." Over the past two months, I've been doing that, eating lunch and digesting Parker's wit twenty pages at a time.My first impression, which I was proud of myself for making at the time, was that these pieces read like something that would appear in the New Yorker. I soon discovered that
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.
A collection of Parker's short stories and poetry. The author is best known for her wit and finding the humor in the darkest of circumstances. I wish that I had read this book a bit at a time instead of trying to power through it. Still, there was plenty to enjoy in this collection. I think I most admire Parker's characterizations. The dialogue is so good that you can hear the voices in their own distinct rhythms and accents. And many of the stories did make me laugh. It would be hard to not
I think I'll finally move this over to the "read" shelf. I didn't read every single page of this book. I love Dorothy Parker and think she is witty and clever. But reading every single thing she ever wrote was a bit wearing and started to feel repetitive and her humor even started to seem a bit mean.
"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!
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