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The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
Not exactly a household word, Max Shulman is nonetheless one of the great stealth writers in American pop culture. He cowrote The Tender Trap, which became a big-screen vehicle for Frank Sinatra, and his hilarious, Elvis-intensive satire Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! also made it to Hollywood, pairing the young Paul Newman with the equally young Joanne Woodward. Shulman's best-known creation, however, is probably Dobie Gillis--that smooth-talking schlemiel of a college student, always on the make for female companionship. And in this case, the synergistic success of the book--which generated both a limp movie musical and a much-beloved television series--does Shulman a real disservice. Why? The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is much funnier than either of its live-action spin-offs, for one thing. With Dobie himself narrating, the plots shake off at least a grain of their sitcom stiffness. More to the point, though, is Shulman's mastery of wise-guy prose: the goofy, comical elevation of Dobie's voice suggests a kind of broad-brush S. J. Perelman, and if Shulman is a tad less clever than that comedic monster, he's also superior at inducing the world-class belly laugh. Certainly The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis does the trick nicely, and the period illustrations are an irresistible bonus, suitable for framing.
223 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1951
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
May 14, 2018
The first short story is called "The Unlucky Winner" and begins "My next girl is going to be honest. I don't care if she looks like a doorknob. Just so she's honest." Well, all right, book-version-of-the-classic-TV-show! And thanks for the honest-explanation introductory note and, later on, the character named "Happy Stella Kowalski"!
"I don't know beans about modern literature. My field is mechanical engineering. I don't know much about that either." (Dobie himself gets honest at Location 916)
"Her eyes were a smoky gray. (I refer, of course, to the irises; the rest of the eyeball was white.) ... Her figure had no unsightly bulges, but several sightly ones." (Location 1392)
"...a hedonist without a mate is really only half a hedonist." (Location 1464)
"'The important thing is to keep our heads,' I said, although I didn't know what I would do with mine even if I kept it. It contained not one iota of information about chemical analysis." (Location 1568)
"'How about a movie? There's supposed to be a very unusual picture at the Bijou. It isn't told in flashback. ... They just start at the beginning of the story and go right straight through to the end.' 'Revolutionary.'" (Location 2011)
"I am not so much an Egyptologist that I find beauty only in ruins; this young woman, the very opposite of a ruin, delighted me...." (Location 2944, in the frantic course of the final story...which comes to a Shakespearean conclusion? Ah, college life.)
Thank you for reading this review, and I honestly hope that if you read this book, you will like it!
"I don't know beans about modern literature. My field is mechanical engineering. I don't know much about that either." (Dobie himself gets honest at Location 916)
"Her eyes were a smoky gray. (I refer, of course, to the irises; the rest of the eyeball was white.) ... Her figure had no unsightly bulges, but several sightly ones." (Location 1392)
"...a hedonist without a mate is really only half a hedonist." (Location 1464)
"'The important thing is to keep our heads,' I said, although I didn't know what I would do with mine even if I kept it. It contained not one iota of information about chemical analysis." (Location 1568)
"'How about a movie? There's supposed to be a very unusual picture at the Bijou. It isn't told in flashback. ... They just start at the beginning of the story and go right straight through to the end.' 'Revolutionary.'" (Location 2011)
"I am not so much an Egyptologist that I find beauty only in ruins; this young woman, the very opposite of a ruin, delighted me...." (Location 2944, in the frantic course of the final story...which comes to a Shakespearean conclusion? Ah, college life.)
Thank you for reading this review, and I honestly hope that if you read this book, you will like it!
February 10, 2018
Imagine if PG Wodehouse wrote stories about a girl-crazy freshman at the University of Minnesota, circa late 1940s. That's kind of what reader will find in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. I first read this book in 2003; it was a going-away gift from my high school librarian, who had to discard it but thought I would like it. She was right -- I loved it. I loved the silly humor, the archaic slang ("Wow-dow", "he fractures me", etc), the presence of this world that was so obviously different from mine. The eleven stories are not sequential, or chronological; unlike I Was a Teenage Dwarf, the Dobie here is not a fixed character. In one story he may be serious and cunning, and in another he's apparently been given a dose of ecstasy, nibbling on girls' fingers and jumping about "like a goat". He studies, variously, mechanical engineering, chemistry, journalism, and Egyptology. Every story pivots on Dobie's relationship with a girl, and more often than not he's the one being led around by the ear, a bobby-soxed captain at the helm. These stories are FUNNY -- funny for the silly language, for the absurd scenarios, for the tongue in cheek narration. No wonder I took to Wodehouse so strongly when I first read him: he reminded me of this first brush with Shulman, who for me, never lived up to this book , no matter what else I read by him. (A lot of the other stuff was more bawdy than absurd.)
Read The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. It'll fracture ya.
Read The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. It'll fracture ya.
June 9, 2023
I was so happy to come across this collection of short stories, from which the hit TV show of the same name was adapted. I was ten years old when the sitcom premiered on CBS in September 1959. It ran for four seasons and quickly became one of my favorites. As a pre-teen and young teenager, I had fun watching the exploits of the older teenagers depicted on the show.
The thread that ties these stories together is the same premise that drives the plots of the TV show’s episodes: Dobie Gillis wants a beautiful girlfriend—a “dreamboat,” as the theme song puts it in the now-quaint lingo of the day—and he will do whatever it takes to get one. On the TV show, Dobie is in high school, while in these stories he a couple of years older and a student at the University of Minnesota. But no matter: his primary goal is the same.
The eleven stories in this collection all involve Dobie going through contortions of one sort or another either to win or to keep the affections of a beautiful co-ed. Dobie is nothing if not creative. He will sign up for classes or choose a major for the sole purpose of spending time with a pretty girl. That’s how he ends up taking chemistry in one story even though he really wants to major in “hedonism” (“Love of Two Chemists”) and how he ends up as a home economics major when his true love is journalism (“Everybody Loves My Baby”). His efforts usually pay off in the short run, but less often in the long run.
Dobie’s single-minded pursuit of female beauty sometimes leads him into relationships with girls who are lacking in other respects, notably intellect. But sometimes they outsmart him, or he outsmarts himself.
In one of my favorite stories, “Love Is a Fallacy,” Dobie starts going out with the beautiful Polly. “Intelligent she was not. In fact, she veered in the opposite direction. But I believed that under my guidance she would smarten up. At any rate, it was worth a try. It is, after all, easier to make a beautiful dumb girl smart than to make an ugly smart girl beautiful.” As an aspiring lawyer (his academic interests vary from story to story), Dobie decides to teach Polly logic so she will make an appropriate lawyer’s wife. She turns out to be an excellent student. But logic may not have been the best subject to teach her.
In “Boy Bites Man,” Dobie has the good fortune of dating fellow journalism student Lola Pfefferkorn, who is both beautiful and rich, but again, not very smart. When they both intern at a Minneapolis newspaper, Dobie demonstrates great reportorial instincts and he’s sure that he’ll get an important scoop, but Lola takes a different approach.
All of the stories in the collection are quite funny, assuming you can appreciate them in the context of the time in which they were written and get past the male chauvinism implicit in Dobie’s focus on female beauty. Author Max Shulman (who also had a hand in the TV show) had a real gift for creating comic situations with generally likable characters. I was disappointed that some of my favorite characters from the TV show, including Zelda Gilroy, Chatsworth Osborne Jr., and especially Maynard G. Krebs, TV’s first beatnik, do not appear in the stories. But even without them, the stories are fun to read, whether or not you were a fan of the TV show.
The thread that ties these stories together is the same premise that drives the plots of the TV show’s episodes: Dobie Gillis wants a beautiful girlfriend—a “dreamboat,” as the theme song puts it in the now-quaint lingo of the day—and he will do whatever it takes to get one. On the TV show, Dobie is in high school, while in these stories he a couple of years older and a student at the University of Minnesota. But no matter: his primary goal is the same.
The eleven stories in this collection all involve Dobie going through contortions of one sort or another either to win or to keep the affections of a beautiful co-ed. Dobie is nothing if not creative. He will sign up for classes or choose a major for the sole purpose of spending time with a pretty girl. That’s how he ends up taking chemistry in one story even though he really wants to major in “hedonism” (“Love of Two Chemists”) and how he ends up as a home economics major when his true love is journalism (“Everybody Loves My Baby”). His efforts usually pay off in the short run, but less often in the long run.
Dobie’s single-minded pursuit of female beauty sometimes leads him into relationships with girls who are lacking in other respects, notably intellect. But sometimes they outsmart him, or he outsmarts himself.
In one of my favorite stories, “Love Is a Fallacy,” Dobie starts going out with the beautiful Polly. “Intelligent she was not. In fact, she veered in the opposite direction. But I believed that under my guidance she would smarten up. At any rate, it was worth a try. It is, after all, easier to make a beautiful dumb girl smart than to make an ugly smart girl beautiful.” As an aspiring lawyer (his academic interests vary from story to story), Dobie decides to teach Polly logic so she will make an appropriate lawyer’s wife. She turns out to be an excellent student. But logic may not have been the best subject to teach her.
In “Boy Bites Man,” Dobie has the good fortune of dating fellow journalism student Lola Pfefferkorn, who is both beautiful and rich, but again, not very smart. When they both intern at a Minneapolis newspaper, Dobie demonstrates great reportorial instincts and he’s sure that he’ll get an important scoop, but Lola takes a different approach.
All of the stories in the collection are quite funny, assuming you can appreciate them in the context of the time in which they were written and get past the male chauvinism implicit in Dobie’s focus on female beauty. Author Max Shulman (who also had a hand in the TV show) had a real gift for creating comic situations with generally likable characters. I was disappointed that some of my favorite characters from the TV show, including Zelda Gilroy, Chatsworth Osborne Jr., and especially Maynard G. Krebs, TV’s first beatnik, do not appear in the stories. But even without them, the stories are fun to read, whether or not you were a fan of the TV show.
September 2, 2016
Back when I was in college, I found Nick at Night a relaxation. I had two favorite old shows there, Route 66 and Dobie Gillis. I was pleased to find “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” on audio. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but was better in some ways. I expected to get reacquainted with the cast of the TV show. Not quite. There’s Dobie, and his father the grocer makes an appearance. Dobie is what you expect, although there really isn’t one Dobie. No, these stories are of different Dobie Gillis’s going to college for different majors and infatuated with different girls. In this book, Dobie is a stand-in for everyman, or more appropriately, every horndog. Dobie maintains his horndogedness as he gets himself in various types of mishaps and quandaries in these stories, and it’s easy to see how this concept converted to television scripts. Zelda from the TV show is missing by name, but one story has a Zelda prototype character, with as zany an attraction to Dobie. No “Dobie-doo’s” in the book, though, and no “now cut that out”’s. Thalia Menninger does make a short cameo appearance in one story in the book, not so unlike Tuesday Weld’s short stint as Thalia on the show. Entirely missing was Chatsworth, the rich kid, who wasn’t needed as a foil in the short stories. These were episodic, all revolving around how Dobie chased and kept the girl, often longer than wise. Another big missing piece was beatnik Maynard G. Krebs and his fear of the word “work”. In the TV show, Maynard is sort of like Dobie’s Tyler Durden in a story that would be called “Loafing Club”. Maynard plays the wild and carefree counterpoint to Dobie’s single minded girl obsession. (If anyone writes a thesis about how Dobie and Maynard were the precursors to the Narrator and Tyler Durden in “Fight Club”, please acknowledge you got the idea in this review, thanks.) While I miss Maynard and the countervailing concept he represented, these stories didn’t need him. They are funny enough. I laughed quite a few times throughout. I will definitely be looking for more Max Shulman books. And I’ll be looking for Maynard.
December 21, 2015
Over all I have neglected to write much about one of my early loves, something more intellectual folk turn their nose up at--television. I once wrote that Rod Sterling's Twilight Zone taught me many of my basic core values, including what cigarette I would have smoked had I ever taken up the habit. I mentioned liking Alfred Hitchcock as a kid. The truth is, I am a Boomer and those of my cohort grew up with television. You could say we MADE television. Television shows made just for us: Romper Room, Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, Howdy Doody, Captain Kangaroo, The Micky Mouse Club, The Wonderful World of Disney, Disney's and Wonderful World of Color (which I saw in black and white).
Could the the medium have survived without our parents supporting their sponsors? Like Wonder Bread: Buffalo Bob on the Howdy Doody Show told us kids to look for the wrapper with the red, yellow and blue balloons. See? We made television!
The Westerns that dominated TV also dominated childhood play. Pacifist me as a preschooler wore a gun belt with two six shooters as I took on the mask of Singing Cowboy. I fought to be Gene Autry or Roy Rogers in our make-believe play. I was devastated when my Bat Masterson cane broke.
There was Lassie, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Sea Hunt, Sky King, Phil Silvers, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dennis the Menace, Robin Hood, Dick Van Dyke, Make Room for Daddy, Kukla, Fran, and Ollie, My Friend Flicka, Shirley Temple's Storybook, I've Got A Secret, Donna Reed, Topper, Mr. Wizard, Art Linkletter, 77 Sunset Strip, Alfred Hitchcock, Candid Camera-- And Saturday Night at the Movies.
How I found time to color a page in my coloring book or cut out a paper doll with all that television watching I don't know.
And I watched Dobie Gillis. It was meant for older kids, but the man was talking right to me! How could I resist? And he had the most incredible friend in the whole world--Maynard G. Krebs. I was only seven to eleven old when the show aired. I didn't have a clue about the perils of teenage love. But I loved the show.
Now we have Netflix and HULU I have watched Dobie Gillis again. It's like looking at a whole 'nother civilization! Set in days of saddle shoes pony tails, and malt shops, male-chauvinist pig Dobie sees women as objects of desire, beautiful, but displaying little mental depth. His 'oddball' friend wears a beard (which today would make him trendy). Dobie sitting like Rodin's The Thinker, contemplating the problem of how to get a girl and never managing to keep one.
NetGalley offered the Max Shulman collection of stories The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. It sounded like fun. I requested it; I got it. Reading the first page I was roaring.
The American National Biography Online website quotes the New York Herald Tribune, August 11, 1956, saying Shulman was "the master of undergraduate humor, the outrageous pun and the verbal caricature" relying on broad wordplay or the ludicrous non sequitur.
Dobie Gillis speaks to the reader in each of the eleven stories. Although his major, age, and father's business may change, his dilemma is always the same: there's this girl, see... He does anything to get this girl. He changes his major, lies, cheats, bargains, borrows money, and goes into debt.
The girls are usually rich and Dobie has to scramble to afford them. In The Sugar Bowl an intellectual 'ugly Betty' pursues Dobie but he isn't interested until she invites him to a student meeting at a professor's house where Big Ideas are discussed-- and a jar of money is available for student discretionary needs. Dobie joins the group hoping to get his hand in the jar. He needs $10 to take a beautiful, rich girl to the prom. 'Ugly Betty' gets to the money first, spends it on a makeover, becomes one of the 'beauties', and gets her man.
In The Face is Familiar, But-- Dobie meets a girl at a dance but he doesn't catch her name. Over several dates he tries to discover her name. The movie theater has a weekly drawing. Dobie gives the girl his ticket, she easily wins $640, and is asked her name. Dobie learns she gave a false name. He lost $640 and gained nothing.
In The Mock Governor a beauty has an overprotective uncle with political aspirations; Dobie joins an imaginary campaign to get on the uncle's good side.
In The Unlucky Winner a girl keeps Dobie too busy to attend class or write a theme. He plagiarizes an 1919 essay and his professor enters it into a contest. The original writer is the judge! He doesn't turn Dobie in; he is gratified that students still read his theme.
In my favorite story, Love is a Fallacy, Dobie plays Pygmalion, teaching a beautiful girl logical thinking to make her his intellectual equal. When he deems her up to snuff to be a lawyer's wife he asks her to go steady. But the girl tears down his every argument using the critical thinking skills he helped her to hone.
The last story in the collection, You Think You've Got Trouble, finds Dobie's grocer father commiserating with the mother of a Bryn Mawr drop out. Mr. Gillis explains that he worked hard to build his little business which he had hoped Dobie would take over. But no, Dobie wants to be an Egyptologist.
"You work for them, you make plans for them, you hope, you dream, you pray, and then what happens? They turn around and do exactly what they wanna." He continues, "You're licked. You can't stop 'em. You just gotta let 'em do what they wanna and hope for the best. You and I lady, it ain't our world no more. It's theirs. We've lived our life."
Truer words were never spoken.
Max Schulman (1919-1988) was born in Minnesota and started writing at age four. He attended the University of Minnesota where he edited and wrote for the humor magazine--just like Dobie. During his time in service during World War II he wrote two books. His play The Tender Trap and his novel Rally Round the Flag, Boys! were adapted into films. The Dobie Gillis stories were first published in magazines including Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and The Saturday Evening Post.
All around me was poverty and sordidness,'' he said. ''But I refused to see it that way. By turning it into jokes, I made it bearable.''
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Praise for Max Shulman
“The first person I ever laughed at while reading was Max Shulman.” —Woody Allen
“Students of humor [should] brainwash themselves with the best expressions of the art by reading . . . Max Shulman.” —Steve Allen
“Ribald, outrageous, careening humor that was no respecter of boundaries.” —Los Angeles Times
“Shulman was a satirist with a sunny disposition. . . . A Woody Allen without neuroses.” —Richard Corliss
“Wry, cynical, intelligent, irreverent—nothing is sacred on Shulman’s campus.” —Elinor Lipman
“Shulman is a brilliant satirist. His extraordinary word choice is the core of his humor. Often the bitter core.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“A combination of artists shaped my sense of humor: Robert Benchley with the printed word. Max Shulman and James Thurber.” —Bob Newhart
“Funny and frantic . . . Very wise and sharp satire.” —Ed Grant, Media Funhouse
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
Max Shulman
Open Road Media
Publication January 12, 2016
$7.99 ebook
ISBN: 9781504027823
See my post on NBC's 1964 Star Guide here
See my post on I Was A Card Carrying Member of U.N.C.L.E. here
Could the the medium have survived without our parents supporting their sponsors? Like Wonder Bread: Buffalo Bob on the Howdy Doody Show told us kids to look for the wrapper with the red, yellow and blue balloons. See? We made television!
The Westerns that dominated TV also dominated childhood play. Pacifist me as a preschooler wore a gun belt with two six shooters as I took on the mask of Singing Cowboy. I fought to be Gene Autry or Roy Rogers in our make-believe play. I was devastated when my Bat Masterson cane broke.
There was Lassie, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Sea Hunt, Sky King, Phil Silvers, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dennis the Menace, Robin Hood, Dick Van Dyke, Make Room for Daddy, Kukla, Fran, and Ollie, My Friend Flicka, Shirley Temple's Storybook, I've Got A Secret, Donna Reed, Topper, Mr. Wizard, Art Linkletter, 77 Sunset Strip, Alfred Hitchcock, Candid Camera-- And Saturday Night at the Movies.
How I found time to color a page in my coloring book or cut out a paper doll with all that television watching I don't know.
And I watched Dobie Gillis. It was meant for older kids, but the man was talking right to me! How could I resist? And he had the most incredible friend in the whole world--Maynard G. Krebs. I was only seven to eleven old when the show aired. I didn't have a clue about the perils of teenage love. But I loved the show.
Now we have Netflix and HULU I have watched Dobie Gillis again. It's like looking at a whole 'nother civilization! Set in days of saddle shoes pony tails, and malt shops, male-chauvinist pig Dobie sees women as objects of desire, beautiful, but displaying little mental depth. His 'oddball' friend wears a beard (which today would make him trendy). Dobie sitting like Rodin's The Thinker, contemplating the problem of how to get a girl and never managing to keep one.
NetGalley offered the Max Shulman collection of stories The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. It sounded like fun. I requested it; I got it. Reading the first page I was roaring.
The American National Biography Online website quotes the New York Herald Tribune, August 11, 1956, saying Shulman was "the master of undergraduate humor, the outrageous pun and the verbal caricature" relying on broad wordplay or the ludicrous non sequitur.
Dobie Gillis speaks to the reader in each of the eleven stories. Although his major, age, and father's business may change, his dilemma is always the same: there's this girl, see... He does anything to get this girl. He changes his major, lies, cheats, bargains, borrows money, and goes into debt.
The girls are usually rich and Dobie has to scramble to afford them. In The Sugar Bowl an intellectual 'ugly Betty' pursues Dobie but he isn't interested until she invites him to a student meeting at a professor's house where Big Ideas are discussed-- and a jar of money is available for student discretionary needs. Dobie joins the group hoping to get his hand in the jar. He needs $10 to take a beautiful, rich girl to the prom. 'Ugly Betty' gets to the money first, spends it on a makeover, becomes one of the 'beauties', and gets her man.
In The Face is Familiar, But-- Dobie meets a girl at a dance but he doesn't catch her name. Over several dates he tries to discover her name. The movie theater has a weekly drawing. Dobie gives the girl his ticket, she easily wins $640, and is asked her name. Dobie learns she gave a false name. He lost $640 and gained nothing.
In The Mock Governor a beauty has an overprotective uncle with political aspirations; Dobie joins an imaginary campaign to get on the uncle's good side.
In The Unlucky Winner a girl keeps Dobie too busy to attend class or write a theme. He plagiarizes an 1919 essay and his professor enters it into a contest. The original writer is the judge! He doesn't turn Dobie in; he is gratified that students still read his theme.
In my favorite story, Love is a Fallacy, Dobie plays Pygmalion, teaching a beautiful girl logical thinking to make her his intellectual equal. When he deems her up to snuff to be a lawyer's wife he asks her to go steady. But the girl tears down his every argument using the critical thinking skills he helped her to hone.
The last story in the collection, You Think You've Got Trouble, finds Dobie's grocer father commiserating with the mother of a Bryn Mawr drop out. Mr. Gillis explains that he worked hard to build his little business which he had hoped Dobie would take over. But no, Dobie wants to be an Egyptologist.
"You work for them, you make plans for them, you hope, you dream, you pray, and then what happens? They turn around and do exactly what they wanna." He continues, "You're licked. You can't stop 'em. You just gotta let 'em do what they wanna and hope for the best. You and I lady, it ain't our world no more. It's theirs. We've lived our life."
Truer words were never spoken.
Max Schulman (1919-1988) was born in Minnesota and started writing at age four. He attended the University of Minnesota where he edited and wrote for the humor magazine--just like Dobie. During his time in service during World War II he wrote two books. His play The Tender Trap and his novel Rally Round the Flag, Boys! were adapted into films. The Dobie Gillis stories were first published in magazines including Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and The Saturday Evening Post.
All around me was poverty and sordidness,'' he said. ''But I refused to see it that way. By turning it into jokes, I made it bearable.''
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Praise for Max Shulman
“The first person I ever laughed at while reading was Max Shulman.” —Woody Allen
“Students of humor [should] brainwash themselves with the best expressions of the art by reading . . . Max Shulman.” —Steve Allen
“Ribald, outrageous, careening humor that was no respecter of boundaries.” —Los Angeles Times
“Shulman was a satirist with a sunny disposition. . . . A Woody Allen without neuroses.” —Richard Corliss
“Wry, cynical, intelligent, irreverent—nothing is sacred on Shulman’s campus.” —Elinor Lipman
“Shulman is a brilliant satirist. His extraordinary word choice is the core of his humor. Often the bitter core.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“A combination of artists shaped my sense of humor: Robert Benchley with the printed word. Max Shulman and James Thurber.” —Bob Newhart
“Funny and frantic . . . Very wise and sharp satire.” —Ed Grant, Media Funhouse
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
Max Shulman
Open Road Media
Publication January 12, 2016
$7.99 ebook
ISBN: 9781504027823
See my post on NBC's 1964 Star Guide here
See my post on I Was A Card Carrying Member of U.N.C.L.E. here
April 6, 2018
The writing in this book is excellent - each sentence has a snappy quality and there are lots of great turns of phrase. At first, I thought it was a little like P.G. Wodehouse but set in the 1950s, with the hapless, innocent skirt chasing Dobie always getting himself into scrapes. However, this book does not have a Jeeves, and the book suffers for that. One doesn't ultimately have a lot of sympathy for Dobie, who can be counted on to make the wrong choice every time, and the satire of a time long gone isn't worth the way the women are completely 'othered' and not presented as rational beings.
December 4, 2008
I was a teenager when I read this book and Doby and I had so much in common! We were both absolute nobodies, lower middle-class, moody. And worst of all, he and I both kept falling in love with a new gorgeous girl every few weeks. Of course the girls accepted our adorations because it was good for their ego, but refused to go out with us because they wouldn't stoop that low. This book made my high school years a bit more bearable.
April 12, 2020
I can’t think of very many books that made me laugh out loud. Damon Runyon could do it. I think Demetri Martin’s book had a couple of moments. But even most things I find funny aren’t funny enough. Shulman got me on the first story in this collection. It’s not what happens but the way the author explains what happens that makes such good comedy.
The TV show is funny is different ways from the book. TV Dobie has Bob Denver as the funny sidekick, Maynard G. Krebbs, a character not seen in any story in this collection. Here Dobie has to be the funny one. The most unique thing about this book is that the stories do not work with one another to tell a larger plot, despite starring the same protagonist. Dobie is generally the same in every story, but he has a different girlfriend each time and even getting married by the end of a story doesn’t change that he’s back to bachelorhood in the next one.
If I were teaching a class on humorous fiction, I would include a story from this collection. It will surprise many readers and start a discussion on how the sexual revolution changed comedy especially if you read it alongside Kurt Vonnegut.
The TV show is funny is different ways from the book. TV Dobie has Bob Denver as the funny sidekick, Maynard G. Krebbs, a character not seen in any story in this collection. Here Dobie has to be the funny one. The most unique thing about this book is that the stories do not work with one another to tell a larger plot, despite starring the same protagonist. Dobie is generally the same in every story, but he has a different girlfriend each time and even getting married by the end of a story doesn’t change that he’s back to bachelorhood in the next one.
If I were teaching a class on humorous fiction, I would include a story from this collection. It will surprise many readers and start a discussion on how the sexual revolution changed comedy especially if you read it alongside Kurt Vonnegut.
February 3, 2016
Originally published in the early 1950s, these short stories are sweet, funny, and quaint without seeming irrelevant.
Dobie Gillis is the title character and the thread that connects these stories, though his character isn't set in stone and the stories aren't chronological or necessarily consistent. In all of them, he's an incurably optimistic and hopelessly romantic college student, but that's about it -- each of the stories is a different take on that basic character. Maybe he's fallen in love with a smart, ambitious girl, or a beautiful but dumb girl, or a spoiled rich girl, or a girl who's been sent away to New York by her parents. It doesn't matter, because each story is charming and Dobie is always a bit adorably goofy.
It's clear that these were written several decades ago, but though I had feared the female characters would be either flat or offensively stereotyped, they were widely varied and very fun to read. They certainly keep Dobie on his toes!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Dobie Gillis is the title character and the thread that connects these stories, though his character isn't set in stone and the stories aren't chronological or necessarily consistent. In all of them, he's an incurably optimistic and hopelessly romantic college student, but that's about it -- each of the stories is a different take on that basic character. Maybe he's fallen in love with a smart, ambitious girl, or a beautiful but dumb girl, or a spoiled rich girl, or a girl who's been sent away to New York by her parents. It doesn't matter, because each story is charming and Dobie is always a bit adorably goofy.
It's clear that these were written several decades ago, but though I had feared the female characters would be either flat or offensively stereotyped, they were widely varied and very fun to read. They certainly keep Dobie on his toes!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
September 4, 2022
This is a hilarious series of farcical short stories from the late 1940s to 1951, when it was published. Dobie Gillis is an intelligent but hapless character forever becoming infatuated with every good-looking woman ("girl," in the parlance of the times) he meets, and having to live terrible lies so they will be attracted to him. He usually gets humiliated in the end, but not until after he's had a series of zany events based on each relationship.
This book would especially be interesting to anyone from the Twin Cities or who has attended the University of Minnesota, since the place names are all valid, including such things as the Ski-U-Mah literary magazine he works on.
The situations Dobie finds himself in are usually situationally comic, and I can see why a TV series in the '50s was based on this. I even see on Goodreads that it's out as a comic book.
Everyone's taste in humor is different, but I just loved this.
This book would especially be interesting to anyone from the Twin Cities or who has attended the University of Minnesota, since the place names are all valid, including such things as the Ski-U-Mah literary magazine he works on.
The situations Dobie finds himself in are usually situationally comic, and I can see why a TV series in the '50s was based on this. I even see on Goodreads that it's out as a comic book.
Everyone's taste in humor is different, but I just loved this.
January 5, 2012
http://namebrandketchup.wordpress.com...
This book shaped my early moral judgments and taught me how to appreciate and write humor. It's an example of what I've read as the "Bullwinkle phenomenon": it's funny at age 15, more funny at age 25, and flat out hilarious at age 50. I reviewed it in my blog. Feel free to take a look.
This book shaped my early moral judgments and taught me how to appreciate and write humor. It's an example of what I've read as the "Bullwinkle phenomenon": it's funny at age 15, more funny at age 25, and flat out hilarious at age 50. I reviewed it in my blog. Feel free to take a look.
December 9, 2020
Like most reviewers here, I had fond memories of the early 1960s comedy of the same name. These short stories were written in the 1950s about Dobie Gillis, a girl-crazy freshman at the Univ. of Minnesota. Pretty mild and light-hearted fare but humorous and much appreciated these days.
March 8, 2020
I LOVE Max Shulman's books... though, a little warning: some sensitive content. XD
SO GOOD
SO GOOD
January 24, 2024
"Now I would pass chemistry! Now I wouldn’t have to go to work in my father’s bakery! This narrative is being written in my father’s bakery. I work there now."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2016
Dobie Is Eternal; Not Just A Nostalgia Piece
Like many people of my age and generation I first came to Dobie Gillis through the TV show, "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", that ran originally from 1959 to 1963. When I first received this ARC I looked at a few of the old episodes. I expected the shows to be slow and a bit lame, but I was surprised. These TV adaptations by Max Shulman, drawn from and inspired by his short story collection, were smart, insightful, funny and even a bit edgy. The actual productions, of course, were pretty spare, but everything from the breaking of the fourth wall to the smart dialogue, to Dobie's mild existential dilemmas, was way ahead of its time and slyly subversive. With this happy insight, I turned to the book at hand.
And guess what? The book is every bit as good. You don't have to know anything about the TV show to enjoy this collection. (Indeed, the most famous characters from the TV show, like Maynard Krebs the beatnik, aren't in the book.) Rather, the stories work as written stories. Shulman was sharp, on point and in top form when he wrote these stories, and many of them read like a master class in dry, deadpan quality 50's humor writing.
It's not particularly original with me, but it bears repeating that the Dobie Gillis stories mark a clear bridge between the placid 50's and the turmoil of the 60's. We see it in some of the problems addressed by Dobie, and even in the school, family and social dynamics of the characters. Acquisitiveness, snobbery and the like are regularly skewered in the form of some of the more memorable supporting characters. And, for maybe the first time we see smart and independent women taking the stage. Even the beautiful and unattainable women for whom Dobie constantly hankers get some of the best lines. This is not stale 50's sitcom stuff, and these are women who generally know what they're doing and what they want.
And there's the final beauty. This is a well written, smart, funny and sly collection of shrewdly observed short stories. Pacing is superb, dialogue is razor sharp, and some of the throwaway lines are priceless. (I was sometimes reminded of what an American Wodehouse writing about smitten young Drones and Bertie Woosters would feel like.) There's no postmodern literary funny business, but there is a remarkably fresh and modern feel to some of them. (Not all of the stories, of course; some are just O.K.). Shulman was the real deal. (Other noteworthy works include "Rally Round the Flag, Boys!", the play "The Tender Trap", and numerous other novels and screenplays.) Like many humor authors working at this time, Shulman could walk the line between edgy satire and what was socially acceptable, which may explain some of the energy and subtlety of the work. (And why he had fans like Woody Allen and Steve Allen.)
Anyway, bottom line, this is a fun collection for older readers who can identify with the entire Dobie phenomenon and a nice find for younger readers curious about what people found interesting back in the good old days. A happy reissue.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
Like many people of my age and generation I first came to Dobie Gillis through the TV show, "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", that ran originally from 1959 to 1963. When I first received this ARC I looked at a few of the old episodes. I expected the shows to be slow and a bit lame, but I was surprised. These TV adaptations by Max Shulman, drawn from and inspired by his short story collection, were smart, insightful, funny and even a bit edgy. The actual productions, of course, were pretty spare, but everything from the breaking of the fourth wall to the smart dialogue, to Dobie's mild existential dilemmas, was way ahead of its time and slyly subversive. With this happy insight, I turned to the book at hand.
And guess what? The book is every bit as good. You don't have to know anything about the TV show to enjoy this collection. (Indeed, the most famous characters from the TV show, like Maynard Krebs the beatnik, aren't in the book.) Rather, the stories work as written stories. Shulman was sharp, on point and in top form when he wrote these stories, and many of them read like a master class in dry, deadpan quality 50's humor writing.
It's not particularly original with me, but it bears repeating that the Dobie Gillis stories mark a clear bridge between the placid 50's and the turmoil of the 60's. We see it in some of the problems addressed by Dobie, and even in the school, family and social dynamics of the characters. Acquisitiveness, snobbery and the like are regularly skewered in the form of some of the more memorable supporting characters. And, for maybe the first time we see smart and independent women taking the stage. Even the beautiful and unattainable women for whom Dobie constantly hankers get some of the best lines. This is not stale 50's sitcom stuff, and these are women who generally know what they're doing and what they want.
And there's the final beauty. This is a well written, smart, funny and sly collection of shrewdly observed short stories. Pacing is superb, dialogue is razor sharp, and some of the throwaway lines are priceless. (I was sometimes reminded of what an American Wodehouse writing about smitten young Drones and Bertie Woosters would feel like.) There's no postmodern literary funny business, but there is a remarkably fresh and modern feel to some of them. (Not all of the stories, of course; some are just O.K.). Shulman was the real deal. (Other noteworthy works include "Rally Round the Flag, Boys!", the play "The Tender Trap", and numerous other novels and screenplays.) Like many humor authors working at this time, Shulman could walk the line between edgy satire and what was socially acceptable, which may explain some of the energy and subtlety of the work. (And why he had fans like Woody Allen and Steve Allen.)
Anyway, bottom line, this is a fun collection for older readers who can identify with the entire Dobie phenomenon and a nice find for younger readers curious about what people found interesting back in the good old days. A happy reissue.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
October 17, 2017
This book was pretty fun in the innocent, wholesome white-bread and apple-pie 1940s sort of way. Most people these days will know Dobie from late-night re-runs of re-runs of the ancient television series that managed to last four seasons (1959-1963). The stories here are similar in feel to that, but yeah... they're dated in many ways. Kids in these stories are geeking out over Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. (Who are excellent-but-dead musicians, of course, and these days aren't exactly the sort of sound that college freshmen geek out over.)
The protagonist of the title is pretty much of a curve-watching, hormone-driven, crew-cutted, slacking lad of young college age, still living at home, which was pretty much the fashion back then, borrowing Dad's car, and never managing to keep a buck in his pocket.
My favorite character from the TV series was Maynard G. Krebs (played by Bob Denver) but, alas, no such character as MGK graces the e-pages of this short story collection. The lovely Thalia Menninger, who was played by Tuesday Weld in the TV series, doesn't turn up until about 30% of the way through the book, and then I think only in one story. My favorite character in the whole book was Fannie Jordan. (Fannie would be utterly and totally my type if I were a tongue-lolling 19 again: she's beatniky, bookish, probably never shaves her legs, might be lost without her glasses, and secretly listens to a lot of John Coltrane while reading philosophy... but I digress.)
Dobie's roving young eyes hop from one member of the female persuasion to another -- all rather innocently as there's not a lick of sex in any of the stories, so be prepared for basic WASP wholesomeness throughout. These shorts were originally published in the mid-to-late 1940s, more than a full decade before the show that bears some resemblance to them. In the main, the stories are pretty dated as well by their blatant nudge-and-wink sexism and Dobie's concentration on the physical attributes of his crushes. But at least the young ladies come in a variety pack and aren't all total cookie-cut-outs.
I read this recently-released e-book version on my tiny little smart phone at odd moments, and it took me about 4.5 months to get through, even though it's only about 250 e-pages long. I liked it pretty well, if eye-ball-rollingly at times; and if you enjoyed the TV show you'd probably sort of like it too. But I don't recommend it for anyone who isn't willing to shrug and forgive the lily white antique social veneer of the post WWII USA.
The protagonist of the title is pretty much of a curve-watching, hormone-driven, crew-cutted, slacking lad of young college age, still living at home, which was pretty much the fashion back then, borrowing Dad's car, and never managing to keep a buck in his pocket.
My favorite character from the TV series was Maynard G. Krebs (played by Bob Denver) but, alas, no such character as MGK graces the e-pages of this short story collection. The lovely Thalia Menninger, who was played by Tuesday Weld in the TV series, doesn't turn up until about 30% of the way through the book, and then I think only in one story. My favorite character in the whole book was Fannie Jordan. (Fannie would be utterly and totally my type if I were a tongue-lolling 19 again: she's beatniky, bookish, probably never shaves her legs, might be lost without her glasses, and secretly listens to a lot of John Coltrane while reading philosophy... but I digress.)
Dobie's roving young eyes hop from one member of the female persuasion to another -- all rather innocently as there's not a lick of sex in any of the stories, so be prepared for basic WASP wholesomeness throughout. These shorts were originally published in the mid-to-late 1940s, more than a full decade before the show that bears some resemblance to them. In the main, the stories are pretty dated as well by their blatant nudge-and-wink sexism and Dobie's concentration on the physical attributes of his crushes. But at least the young ladies come in a variety pack and aren't all total cookie-cut-outs.
I read this recently-released e-book version on my tiny little smart phone at odd moments, and it took me about 4.5 months to get through, even though it's only about 250 e-pages long. I liked it pretty well, if eye-ball-rollingly at times; and if you enjoyed the TV show you'd probably sort of like it too. But I don't recommend it for anyone who isn't willing to shrug and forgive the lily white antique social veneer of the post WWII USA.
January 20, 2016
If the TV show starring Dwayne Hickman and Bob Denver is what comes to mind when The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is mentioned, perhaps you’ll be surprised to learn, as I was, that the show was actually based on a series of short stories published in Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Saturday Evening Post, Today’s Woman, and American Magazine. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I requested a copy of this book for reviewing purposes. Part of me was expecting more along the lines of the TV show that debuted in 1959 or even, perhaps, a book along the lines of Kathryn Forbes’ Mama’s Bank Account.
The stories, like the TV show, focus on Dobie’s interest in the fairer sex and juggling life, college, and women. The eleven stories in this collection, originally published between 1945 and 1951, are full of humor that everyone can relate to. I found myself laughing often as Dobie found himself getting into screwball situations in order to get closer to the women in each story.
And what women they are! There’s Clothilde Ellingboe, who has a shortcut for Dobie when it comes to his college coursework so he can spend more time with her. And Fannie Jordan, who manages to snatch Dobie away from Thalia Menninger so he can go to the prom with her instead. And “Mary Brown,” the girl whose name Dobie never learned. Then there’s Pansy Hammer, the girl whose father made her transfer to an out-of-state college so she couldn’t see Dobie anymore. The girls majoring in home economics and journalism and political science. And Bonnie Willet, who decided to make changes in her life on the same day Dobie needs to take his Egyptology final. Every one of them somehow gets Dobie to start thinking with his hormones instead of his brain. Ain’t love grand! (And aren’t the readers lucky?)
Author Max Shulman was a humorist who, it is said, influenced the comedy of Woody Allen and Bob Newhart. Open Road Integrated Media is representing the writings of Max Shulman as eBooks. Along with The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, a follow-up Dobie Gillis collection – I Was a Teenage Dwarf – and seven novels are now available for readers to enjoy.
Rating: 5 (very enthusiastically given) Stars
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Open Road Integrated Media (through NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.
The stories, like the TV show, focus on Dobie’s interest in the fairer sex and juggling life, college, and women. The eleven stories in this collection, originally published between 1945 and 1951, are full of humor that everyone can relate to. I found myself laughing often as Dobie found himself getting into screwball situations in order to get closer to the women in each story.
And what women they are! There’s Clothilde Ellingboe, who has a shortcut for Dobie when it comes to his college coursework so he can spend more time with her. And Fannie Jordan, who manages to snatch Dobie away from Thalia Menninger so he can go to the prom with her instead. And “Mary Brown,” the girl whose name Dobie never learned. Then there’s Pansy Hammer, the girl whose father made her transfer to an out-of-state college so she couldn’t see Dobie anymore. The girls majoring in home economics and journalism and political science. And Bonnie Willet, who decided to make changes in her life on the same day Dobie needs to take his Egyptology final. Every one of them somehow gets Dobie to start thinking with his hormones instead of his brain. Ain’t love grand! (And aren’t the readers lucky?)
Author Max Shulman was a humorist who, it is said, influenced the comedy of Woody Allen and Bob Newhart. Open Road Integrated Media is representing the writings of Max Shulman as eBooks. Along with The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, a follow-up Dobie Gillis collection – I Was a Teenage Dwarf – and seven novels are now available for readers to enjoy.
Rating: 5 (very enthusiastically given) Stars
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Open Road Integrated Media (through NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.
September 12, 2014
I read this after discussion with a friend about the TV show that was based on this book, a collection of eleven short stories. I did not realize that the TV show (a link to Wikapedia below) was based on a book. This is the very rare case where I enjoyed a TV program, or movie for that matter, as much or more then the book. If you're hoping to see Maynard, or Zelda in these stories forget it. Where the TV show explored issues other then just Dobie's love life, the book doesn't.
The eleven short stories in the book are not interconnected in any way, other then the main character. In all the stories he is a freshman at the University of Minnesota. In each of the stories Dobie is smitten with a beautiful girl at first sight. While this is not unusual for the typical 18-19 year old boy Dobie comes up with elaborate schemes, and lies, to gain the girl's affections. Not surprisingly, he crashes and burns (deservedly so) in each of the stories.
The stories were written in a more innocent/simplistic time and cultural attitudes were very different from those of today.
Most of the stories have a twist at the end, that is not totally surprising but through the author's narrative Dobie almost never, with one notable exception, learns anything. The characters lack a depth that I would have liked to see, especially the girls that are the object of Dobie's attention (he does objectify them).
I would have enjoyed the stories more if they had been linked together with Dobie gaining wisdom, albeit slowly, along the way. My favorite of the collection are the last three, "Boy Bites Man", "The King's English", and "You Think You Got Trouble"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Many...
The eleven short stories in the book are not interconnected in any way, other then the main character. In all the stories he is a freshman at the University of Minnesota. In each of the stories Dobie is smitten with a beautiful girl at first sight. While this is not unusual for the typical 18-19 year old boy Dobie comes up with elaborate schemes, and lies, to gain the girl's affections. Not surprisingly, he crashes and burns (deservedly so) in each of the stories.
The stories were written in a more innocent/simplistic time and cultural attitudes were very different from those of today.
Most of the stories have a twist at the end, that is not totally surprising but through the author's narrative Dobie almost never, with one notable exception, learns anything. The characters lack a depth that I would have liked to see, especially the girls that are the object of Dobie's attention (he does objectify them).
I would have enjoyed the stories more if they had been linked together with Dobie gaining wisdom, albeit slowly, along the way. My favorite of the collection are the last three, "Boy Bites Man", "The King's English", and "You Think You Got Trouble"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Many...
January 20, 2016
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis by Max Shulman is being re-released. I loved Duane Hickman as Dobie on TV when I was a kid, and read these stories when I was a bit older. So, for me, this is a trip down memory lane. Will my trip be one shared by the teens of today?
The lovable Dobie Gillis was always looking for an angle. He was a pretty average kid - average intelligence, average ability, average looks. He tended not to excel in really anything, and what he did need to do was usually something he would rather avoid. So, rather than take the straightforward route, Dobie would try to find a way out of homework, obligations, helping Dad at the store, etc. He was easily talked into any kind of scheme, especially by one of his loves. The results were typically hilarious. Unlike other schemers, Dobie Gillis almost always was caught and had to suffer the consequences.
I just love the stories and find them hilarious. Dobie always seems to be just on the verge of making everything work when something goes wrong. He always trusts the wrong person, even when he argues against the plan himself.
So, here is the question: The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was written in the 40's and 50's. And, the situations are true to that era. Will the humor translate to those born in the 90's or 2000's? I love them and hope others will as well. I know they will appeal to those of us who remember black and white television. I sure hope they appeal to others. These are so funny and witty. Give them a try.
The lovable Dobie Gillis was always looking for an angle. He was a pretty average kid - average intelligence, average ability, average looks. He tended not to excel in really anything, and what he did need to do was usually something he would rather avoid. So, rather than take the straightforward route, Dobie would try to find a way out of homework, obligations, helping Dad at the store, etc. He was easily talked into any kind of scheme, especially by one of his loves. The results were typically hilarious. Unlike other schemers, Dobie Gillis almost always was caught and had to suffer the consequences.
I just love the stories and find them hilarious. Dobie always seems to be just on the verge of making everything work when something goes wrong. He always trusts the wrong person, even when he argues against the plan himself.
So, here is the question: The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was written in the 40's and 50's. And, the situations are true to that era. Will the humor translate to those born in the 90's or 2000's? I love them and hope others will as well. I know they will appeal to those of us who remember black and white television. I sure hope they appeal to others. These are so funny and witty. Give them a try.
February 1, 2014
Let's see a show of hands. Who remembers the TV show that was inspired by this book? I thought so. A smattering of Baby Boomers. Several of you mentioned Bob Denver's character Maynard G. Krebs, the beatnik teenager.
Forget the TV show. Except for this: these are a series of stories about a girl-crazy teenager. Sound familiar? That's the part of the character that didn't change. What did change? Almost everything.
When Max Shulman wrote the Dobie Gillis stories the one thing he wasn't concerned with was consistency. If he needed his father to be a grocer, he was. (That was only one story in the bunch.) If he needed Dobie to be majoring in biology, he was a biology major.
But: no Maynard. (What was the G. for? That's right: Walter.) And no Thalia Menninger or Zelda Gilroy. There is one story that has a character that is almost Zelda, but not by that name.
But they're all funny. And worth a read. There's a second book of Dobie Gillis stories: I Was a Teen-aged Dwarf. They're funny, too.
What about the series? Well, it's funny. And Maynard is about the best character that Bob Denver did. Way better than Gilligan. Hunt them down if you want. But read the stories. That's where it started.
Forget the TV show. Except for this: these are a series of stories about a girl-crazy teenager. Sound familiar? That's the part of the character that didn't change. What did change? Almost everything.
When Max Shulman wrote the Dobie Gillis stories the one thing he wasn't concerned with was consistency. If he needed his father to be a grocer, he was. (That was only one story in the bunch.) If he needed Dobie to be majoring in biology, he was a biology major.
But: no Maynard. (What was the G. for? That's right: Walter.) And no Thalia Menninger or Zelda Gilroy. There is one story that has a character that is almost Zelda, but not by that name.
But they're all funny. And worth a read. There's a second book of Dobie Gillis stories: I Was a Teen-aged Dwarf. They're funny, too.
What about the series? Well, it's funny. And Maynard is about the best character that Bob Denver did. Way better than Gilligan. Hunt them down if you want. But read the stories. That's where it started.
May 22, 2013
Light, pleasurable collection of short stories that previously appeared in popular magazines during the late forties and early fifties. No Maynard G. Krebs or Zelda appear in these stories, though Thalia Menninger (the name of Tuesday Weld's character) appears as one of his many loves.
In note at the beginning of the book Shulman says, "Mean, small, captious, and niggling readers will notice certain discrepancies in the following stories. In some of them, for example, Dobie Gillis is a freshman; in others he is a sophomore. In some he is majoring in law; in others he is majoring in journalism or chemistry or English or mechanical engineering or nothing at all. In some he is shrewd; in others dumb; in some aggressive; in others meek. In some he is seventeen years old; in others eighteen; in others nineteen.
These tiny variations will be noticed, as I said, by mean, small, captious, and niggling readers. But to the intelligent, greathearted, truly American reader, they will be matters of no consequence."
In note at the beginning of the book Shulman says, "Mean, small, captious, and niggling readers will notice certain discrepancies in the following stories. In some of them, for example, Dobie Gillis is a freshman; in others he is a sophomore. In some he is majoring in law; in others he is majoring in journalism or chemistry or English or mechanical engineering or nothing at all. In some he is shrewd; in others dumb; in some aggressive; in others meek. In some he is seventeen years old; in others eighteen; in others nineteen.
These tiny variations will be noticed, as I said, by mean, small, captious, and niggling readers. But to the intelligent, greathearted, truly American reader, they will be matters of no consequence."
September 24, 2017
When I was a young man, I very much enjoyed the TV show, "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", starring Dwayne Hickman, Bob Denver, and Tuesday Weld. (I had such a crush on Tuesday Weld.) So I was excited to run across the book of collected short stories upon which the series was based. I was not disappointed. The stories are delightful and funny, and I can often hear (and imagine) Dwayne Hickman mouthing the words that I am reading.
The one thing that I must warn a prospective reader about is that when Max Shulman first penned these stories for magazine publication, he had little sense of continuity. Although always at the University of Minnesota, Dobie is at various times (as a freshman) a journalism, chemistry, pre-law, and Egyptology major. His father starts out as a baker and ends up a grocer. He does or does not own a car. However, if you can suspend your need for things always being the consistent, I think that you will (like me) thoroughly enjoy this entertaining collection of tales.
The one thing that I must warn a prospective reader about is that when Max Shulman first penned these stories for magazine publication, he had little sense of continuity. Although always at the University of Minnesota, Dobie is at various times (as a freshman) a journalism, chemistry, pre-law, and Egyptology major. His father starts out as a baker and ends up a grocer. He does or does not own a car. However, if you can suspend your need for things always being the consistent, I think that you will (like me) thoroughly enjoy this entertaining collection of tales.
December 15, 2015
We all need a good laugh now and again and this short story collection is full of these. Some of you may have read books by Max Shulman – I did, long ago and far away, and remember after these years and many thousands of books later how funny that one was – what was its name? Rally ‘Round the Flags Boys,’ made into a flick starring Paul Newman.
This is a little different, but again you might have heard of it since it was the germ of the TV show of quite a while ago. I’m not sure if it’s exactly PC – isn’t it hard to tell these days? – but these are tales of a guy in pursuit of a sweetie – and I see nothing wrong about that…..
But as I said we all need a good laugh – they say laughter is the best medicine and it can be cheaper too – so what’s stopping you from taking some meds for whatever ails you?
It’s right here waiting to be read…by you! And I guarantee if you read two stories in the evening, you’ll feel better in the morning…just give me a call if you’re not.
This is a little different, but again you might have heard of it since it was the germ of the TV show of quite a while ago. I’m not sure if it’s exactly PC – isn’t it hard to tell these days? – but these are tales of a guy in pursuit of a sweetie – and I see nothing wrong about that…..
But as I said we all need a good laugh – they say laughter is the best medicine and it can be cheaper too – so what’s stopping you from taking some meds for whatever ails you?
It’s right here waiting to be read…by you! And I guarantee if you read two stories in the evening, you’ll feel better in the morning…just give me a call if you’re not.
July 24, 2016
I'm not certain this book has an audience beyond us baby boomers--but then there are a lot of us! This just came out on audio, nicely narrated by George Newbern. His voice doesn't have the same archness that Dwayne Hickman displayed in the 50s-60s tv series, but he does a great job with the slang and the general craziness. No Zelda, no beatnik Maynard G. Krebs, but Thalia Menninger is here, and Dobie finds a new love--always the love of his life--as he ditches school and responsibilities and follows his heart in each story. Lively pacing; vivid characterizations; not much happening in the plot (essentially every chapter involves a new love and an escapade that lands him in trouble from which he must extricate himself); 50s humor, pop culture, and slang; and a lighthearted tone. Nostalgia for those of us who fondly remember the series.
December 26, 2015
A quick an easy read of short stories first published in 1951 and it feels about 75 years old in the relationships between man and woman. Although Dobie spends all his time chasing after women, these are funny dating/crush/college stories -- not the stories of a sexual predator. My fave was "love as a fallacy" in which Dobie teaches his date mathematical logic in an attempt to make her into the perfect wife (like Pygmalion) only to have this fail with a very nice twist of fate.
I was a little disappointed there were no Manyard G Krebs (or beatnik friend) stories. I guess when the TV show arrived in 1959, beatniks were better known. Well, if I had read any of the reviews below, I would have known this.
I was a little disappointed there were no Manyard G Krebs (or beatnik friend) stories. I guess when the TV show arrived in 1959, beatniks were better known. Well, if I had read any of the reviews below, I would have known this.
September 29, 2017
Isn't this book just marvy? I absolutely loved the feeling of being taken back to the mid twentieth century academia in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St Paul), as I am a current resident of the area. But, each of Dobie's stories made me smile and chuckle, especially at the "punchlines" toward the end of each of his adventures. Overall, it was a cute book to read and I highly recommend it as a light, fluffy read. (Just don't forget to read the author's note at the beginning -- he addresses the inconsistencies in the stories.) Oh, one other thing, I wish there had been more to read. I want more Dobie Gillis stories. I'm sure you'll feel the same after finishing the book. Really, just marvy!
February 18, 2016
WARNING: This books bears almost NO relationship to the 1950s tv series of the same name--There is NO Maynard G Krebs.
That being said, this is an enjoyable little collection. There are no big messages in any of the stories, no lessons taught or learned, no in-depth characterizations. These are light, breezy little stories that pretty much epitomize a large segment of literature of the time.
Be prepared for some whiplashing, though. In one story, Dobie's dad runs a grocery store, in another, he's a baker. At one point, Dobie is a journalism major, then a chemistry major, then...well, you get the idea.
That being said, this is an enjoyable little collection. There are no big messages in any of the stories, no lessons taught or learned, no in-depth characterizations. These are light, breezy little stories that pretty much epitomize a large segment of literature of the time.
Be prepared for some whiplashing, though. In one story, Dobie's dad runs a grocery store, in another, he's a baker. At one point, Dobie is a journalism major, then a chemistry major, then...well, you get the idea.
May 31, 2016
Recommended by Elinor Lipman, I must agree with her that this is very funny stuff. Not that Elinor and I have been talking, she recommended this in her book. Dobie is a student at the University of Minnesota and often more concerned with his relationships than his studies. Each of these stories features Dobie although his major changes, his focus on attractive women is constant. Trouble has a way of finding Dobie but he is also pretty good at squirming out of trouble. All of these stories are entertaining. Max Shulman has a way of structuring the stories that, even if you can see the ending, getting there is a wonderful trip.
December 31, 2015
I had been a big fan of The Dobie Gillis Show when I was a kid, and, if I recall correctly, I think Andy Cohen mentioned this book as a favorite in his autobiography, so I thought this would be a fun book to read. I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of the re-issue of this book, and both my husband and I read it and enjoyed it on our vacation. It was very nostalgic for us, and we could see how it inspired the TV series. It was a nice trip back in time to a more innocent time, and it was a pleasure to read. I think other fans of the TV show would enjoy it as well.
November 10, 2014
This was an amusing set of stories featuring the same main character, Dobie Gillis, who is basically the same character in each story, only with a slightly different setting, plot and character background. All of the stories feature a similar storyline, with Gillis pursuing the affections of a young coed. Shulman writes clever, witty dialogue and sets each story in the 1940's college scene. Don't expect Maynard Krebs to pop up, but these fun little tales are sure to elicit a wry smile.
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