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Dorothy Parker
Complete Stories
As this complete collection of her short stories demonstrates, Dorothy Parker’s talents extended far beyond brash one-liners and clever rhymes. Her stories not only bring to life the urban milieu that was her bailiwick but lay bare the uncertainties and disappointments of ordinary people living ordinary lives.
447 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1924
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About the author
Dorothy Parker
313 books2,020 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
Dorothy Parker was an American writer, poet and critic best known for her caustic wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary output in such venues as The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Following the breakup of the circle, Parker traveled to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting. Her successes there, including two Academy Award nominations, were curtailed as her involvement in left-wing politics led to a place on the Hollywood blacklist.
Dismissive of her own talents, she deplored her reputation as a "wisecracker." Nevertheless, her literary output and reputation for her sharp wit have endured.
Dorothy Parker was an American writer, poet and critic best known for her caustic wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary output in such venues as The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Following the breakup of the circle, Parker traveled to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting. Her successes there, including two Academy Award nominations, were curtailed as her involvement in left-wing politics led to a place on the Hollywood blacklist.
Dismissive of her own talents, she deplored her reputation as a "wisecracker." Nevertheless, her literary output and reputation for her sharp wit have endured.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 252 reviews
October 19, 2011
For a very long time (read: just before finding this book) I wasn't completely sure that Dorothy Parker had ever written anything longer than a quote. I'd always sort of suspected that she was famous for drinking a lot and delivering devastating one-liners on a regular basis.
It was a delightful surprise, therefore, to find this collection and discover that, yes, Dorothy Parker did do a lot of writing - and not just one-liners. Many of these stories are wonderfully sarcastic (the best ones are about rich New Yorkers lamenting how terribly difficult their lives are) with great descriptions like this one:
"The apartment was of many rooms, each light, high, and honorably square. Each, with its furnishings, might one day be moved intact to the American wing of some museum, labeled, 'Room in Dwelling of Well-to-Do Merchant, New York, Circa Truman Administration'; and spectators, crowded behind the velvet rope which prevents their actual entrance, might murmur, according to their schools of thought, either, 'Ah, it's darling!' or else, 'Did people really live like that?'"
and of course, Parker's trademark lines are present as well:
"It was a big factor in Dr. Langham's success that she had the ability to make wet straws seem like sturdy logs to the nearly submerged."
(the best of these one-liners, I think, was in her piece titled "Men I'm Not Married To", where she describes each man in detail and reflects on their relationship; for Lloyd, however, she writes simply, "Lloyd wears washable neckties.")
But there's more than just funny short stories ridiculing the young, rich, shallow people that Parker apparently surrounded herself with. In addition, many of the stories are tragic and sad, most often dealing with miserable marriages and depressed housewives. The exception is "Clothe the Naked", which is about a poor black woman raising her dead daughter's blind son, and ends about as happily as you can expect a story like that to end.
All in all, a really good collection of alternately funny, biting, depressing, and beautiful stories. Particular favorites: "Professional Youth", "Little Curtis", "The Garter", "You Were Perfectly Fine", "But the One on the Right", "A Young Woman in Green Lace", and "From the Diary of a New York Lady."
It was a delightful surprise, therefore, to find this collection and discover that, yes, Dorothy Parker did do a lot of writing - and not just one-liners. Many of these stories are wonderfully sarcastic (the best ones are about rich New Yorkers lamenting how terribly difficult their lives are) with great descriptions like this one:
"The apartment was of many rooms, each light, high, and honorably square. Each, with its furnishings, might one day be moved intact to the American wing of some museum, labeled, 'Room in Dwelling of Well-to-Do Merchant, New York, Circa Truman Administration'; and spectators, crowded behind the velvet rope which prevents their actual entrance, might murmur, according to their schools of thought, either, 'Ah, it's darling!' or else, 'Did people really live like that?'"
and of course, Parker's trademark lines are present as well:
"It was a big factor in Dr. Langham's success that she had the ability to make wet straws seem like sturdy logs to the nearly submerged."
(the best of these one-liners, I think, was in her piece titled "Men I'm Not Married To", where she describes each man in detail and reflects on their relationship; for Lloyd, however, she writes simply, "Lloyd wears washable neckties.")
But there's more than just funny short stories ridiculing the young, rich, shallow people that Parker apparently surrounded herself with. In addition, many of the stories are tragic and sad, most often dealing with miserable marriages and depressed housewives. The exception is "Clothe the Naked", which is about a poor black woman raising her dead daughter's blind son, and ends about as happily as you can expect a story like that to end.
All in all, a really good collection of alternately funny, biting, depressing, and beautiful stories. Particular favorites: "Professional Youth", "Little Curtis", "The Garter", "You Were Perfectly Fine", "But the One on the Right", "A Young Woman in Green Lace", and "From the Diary of a New York Lady."
February 23, 2021
“Rimel kullanmaktan vazgeçmem lazım Fred; hayat fazla üzücü. Hayat berbat değil mi?”
Aristokrat çevrelerden gelen, yüzeysel varoluşlarını en iyi restoranlarda, gizli meyhanelerde, otellerde, gündelik ilişkilerde unutup kalplerini mutlulukla doldurmaya çalışan erkeklerle kadınların öyküleri. Dorothy Parker bir noktada, (kendisinin de dahil olduğu) iki savaş arası New York’ta mutsuzluğa saplanmış, hasta ve iki yüzlü bir toplumun - bir noktada Amerika’nın kayıp neslinin - tarihçisi gibi hareket ediyor. İroni ve iğnelemelerle dolu, gündelik hayatın çelişkilerini zekice anlatan bu öykülerde hep kaybolmak isteyen bıkkın adam, çalmayan telefonlar, aptal sevgililer, yavaş yavaş parçalanan mutlu kadınlar ve kayıp ruhlar var. Ancak üzücü bir ayrıntı ise aslında bu öykülerde Parker’ın kendi hayatına dair izlerin gizli olması. Yazarın yüzeysel olarak neşeli ve canlılıkla dolu hayatı özünde asla üstesinden gelemediği travmalarla dolu ve içinde kendi deyimi ile “çok erken yaşta yetim kalan bir yahudi kız” saklı. Ailenin zengin ve ünlü kolundan gelmediği için Rothschild olan soyadını değiştirmek için evlenen, orta sınıfa ait estetik kaygılar taşımadan yaşayan aile ortamından uzak kalmayı seçebilen, savaş sonrası yaşanan yeniden yapılanma ve kısıtlamalar arasında özgürlüğünü, bağımsızlığını kuran ama bir yandan da karanlık ve kendini yok etme arzusuyla dolu bir kadın. Bu kitapta da yer alan ve ince bir mizah ile sarsıcı diyalogların olduğu, “Küçük ayaklarıyla gurur duyar ve onları, olabilecek en küçük numaradan, daracık, yüksek topuklu ayakkabıların içine sıkıştırarak kendini beğenmişliğinin ceremesini çekerdi.” diye tanımladığı “ Büyük Sarışın”ın öyküsü - ki benim de kitaptaki favorilerimden- kendi hayatından izleri takip edebileceğiniz yazılarından.
Öyküler mi bu kadar etkiledi yoksa yazarın hayatına dair detaylar mı bilmiyorum ancak Dorothy Parker ile tanışmak benim için bu yılın en güzel kazanımlarından bir tanesi. Bir Jean Stafford arası verdikten sonra “Çıplakları Giydir” ile öykülerini okumaya devam edeceğim. Çağdaş Amerikan edebiyatını seviyorsanız mutlaka okuyun.
“Ah, insanları sevmeden önce onlara tatlı davranmak öyle kolay ki.”
“Lütfen bunu anlamamı sağla Tanrım. Senden bunu benim için kolaylaştırmanı istemiyorum... bir dünya yaratabilmeme rağmen bunu yapamazsın. Yalnızca anlamamı sağla Tanrım. Umut etmeyi sürdürüp durmama müsade etme. Kendime avutucu şeyler söylememe müsade etme. Lütfen umut etmeme izin verme yüce Tanrım. Lütfen izin verme.”
“Gündüzleri, bir daha asla dar ayakkabılar gitmemenin, bir daha asla gülmek, dinlemek ve hayranlık göstermek zorunda kalmamanın, bundan böyle daha fazla uyumlu ve kafa dengi biri olmamanın hayalini kuruyordu. Hem de asla.”
“Hayat dediğin ne ki hem? Bir ölüm cezası. İki nokta arasındaki en uzun mesafe.”
Aristokrat çevrelerden gelen, yüzeysel varoluşlarını en iyi restoranlarda, gizli meyhanelerde, otellerde, gündelik ilişkilerde unutup kalplerini mutlulukla doldurmaya çalışan erkeklerle kadınların öyküleri. Dorothy Parker bir noktada, (kendisinin de dahil olduğu) iki savaş arası New York’ta mutsuzluğa saplanmış, hasta ve iki yüzlü bir toplumun - bir noktada Amerika’nın kayıp neslinin - tarihçisi gibi hareket ediyor. İroni ve iğnelemelerle dolu, gündelik hayatın çelişkilerini zekice anlatan bu öykülerde hep kaybolmak isteyen bıkkın adam, çalmayan telefonlar, aptal sevgililer, yavaş yavaş parçalanan mutlu kadınlar ve kayıp ruhlar var. Ancak üzücü bir ayrıntı ise aslında bu öykülerde Parker’ın kendi hayatına dair izlerin gizli olması. Yazarın yüzeysel olarak neşeli ve canlılıkla dolu hayatı özünde asla üstesinden gelemediği travmalarla dolu ve içinde kendi deyimi ile “çok erken yaşta yetim kalan bir yahudi kız” saklı. Ailenin zengin ve ünlü kolundan gelmediği için Rothschild olan soyadını değiştirmek için evlenen, orta sınıfa ait estetik kaygılar taşımadan yaşayan aile ortamından uzak kalmayı seçebilen, savaş sonrası yaşanan yeniden yapılanma ve kısıtlamalar arasında özgürlüğünü, bağımsızlığını kuran ama bir yandan da karanlık ve kendini yok etme arzusuyla dolu bir kadın. Bu kitapta da yer alan ve ince bir mizah ile sarsıcı diyalogların olduğu, “Küçük ayaklarıyla gurur duyar ve onları, olabilecek en küçük numaradan, daracık, yüksek topuklu ayakkabıların içine sıkıştırarak kendini beğenmişliğinin ceremesini çekerdi.” diye tanımladığı “ Büyük Sarışın”ın öyküsü - ki benim de kitaptaki favorilerimden- kendi hayatından izleri takip edebileceğiniz yazılarından.
Öyküler mi bu kadar etkiledi yoksa yazarın hayatına dair detaylar mı bilmiyorum ancak Dorothy Parker ile tanışmak benim için bu yılın en güzel kazanımlarından bir tanesi. Bir Jean Stafford arası verdikten sonra “Çıplakları Giydir” ile öykülerini okumaya devam edeceğim. Çağdaş Amerikan edebiyatını seviyorsanız mutlaka okuyun.
“Ah, insanları sevmeden önce onlara tatlı davranmak öyle kolay ki.”
“Lütfen bunu anlamamı sağla Tanrım. Senden bunu benim için kolaylaştırmanı istemiyorum... bir dünya yaratabilmeme rağmen bunu yapamazsın. Yalnızca anlamamı sağla Tanrım. Umut etmeyi sürdürüp durmama müsade etme. Kendime avutucu şeyler söylememe müsade etme. Lütfen umut etmeme izin verme yüce Tanrım. Lütfen izin verme.”
“Gündüzleri, bir daha asla dar ayakkabılar gitmemenin, bir daha asla gülmek, dinlemek ve hayranlık göstermek zorunda kalmamanın, bundan böyle daha fazla uyumlu ve kafa dengi biri olmamanın hayalini kuruyordu. Hem de asla.”
“Hayat dediğin ne ki hem? Bir ölüm cezası. İki nokta arasındaki en uzun mesafe.”
October 14, 2017
These are good, but were meant for magazine publication and reading in homeopathic doses.
Parker clearly likes describing awful people and situations in an ironic, very controlled way, but I don’t think I love it, at least definitely not en masse. Dark humour, drinking humour, sharp social observation – from racism (Arrangement in Black and White, 1927) to social climbers (“The steps in social ascent may be gauged by the terms employed to describe a man's informal evening dress: the progression goes Tuxedo, Tux, dinner jacket, Black Tie.” – The Game). The introduction by Regina Barecca is an interesting example of revisionism, presenting Parker as the unsung Great AmericanNovelist Short Story Author.
Stories I liked best (I leafed through the last section, sketches):
* Big Blonde – a really good, depressing story of a Chandleresque female.
* Arrangement in Black and White
* From the Diary of a New York Lady – fab.
* Advice to the Little Peyton Girl - a classic
* Glory in the Daytime
* Cousin Larry
* Mrs. Hofstadter on Josephine Street – really funny
* The Custard Heart – horrid analysis of insensitivity.
* The Game – a veritable drawing-room thriller. I wasn't sure I was giving it four stars, but The Game settled it.
* Banquet of Crow - a story about a quack therapist/ personal coach, 'helping' her client get through being abandoned by a spouse. Still valid (like most of the observations about the ugliness of human nature in this book).
Parker clearly likes describing awful people and situations in an ironic, very controlled way, but I don’t think I love it, at least definitely not en masse. Dark humour, drinking humour, sharp social observation – from racism (Arrangement in Black and White, 1927) to social climbers (“The steps in social ascent may be gauged by the terms employed to describe a man's informal evening dress: the progression goes Tuxedo, Tux, dinner jacket, Black Tie.” – The Game). The introduction by Regina Barecca is an interesting example of revisionism, presenting Parker as the unsung Great American
Stories I liked best (I leafed through the last section, sketches):
* Big Blonde – a really good, depressing story of a Chandleresque female.
* Arrangement in Black and White
* From the Diary of a New York Lady – fab.
* Advice to the Little Peyton Girl - a classic
* Glory in the Daytime
* Cousin Larry
* Mrs. Hofstadter on Josephine Street – really funny
* The Custard Heart – horrid analysis of insensitivity.
* The Game – a veritable drawing-room thriller. I wasn't sure I was giving it four stars, but The Game settled it.
* Banquet of Crow - a story about a quack therapist/ personal coach, 'helping' her client get through being abandoned by a spouse. Still valid (like most of the observations about the ugliness of human nature in this book).
October 16, 2024
Mrs Parker died, age 73, in 1967, on the cusp of Women's Lib. Rebecca Barreca, in a gurgling intro, notes that her stories depict the effects of economical and spiritual poverty upon vulnerable women who received no education about the "real world" beyond fables grazing love & marriage - fables reflecting the '20s. Even though people don't change (much), the Parker viewpoint, I find, represents past decades, which is why George S Kaufman said, "Satire is what closes on Saturday night." Dottie also oozes neurotica. Her writing, while always wickedly smart, has a "needinessy" and melancholia that seems narrow today. Dot is either whiney or bitchy. Further, her stories are all the same. By contrast Dawn Powell, who died unheralded, age 68, in 1965, continues to have a blazing modernity.
June 3, 2019
These stories are just incredible! I chose audio and the female narrator is superb. Although some of the language is dated, the situations are spot-on current. Just ageless tales. I especially enjoy the one-sided conversations.
July 22, 2024
Oh Dorothy Parker how I wish you could be my spirit animal!
Some of these pieces are just as sharp and biting as they were 100 years ago. Still perfectly relevant and perfectly droll.
This collection is meant to be savoured, rather than gulped.
Some of these pieces are just as sharp and biting as they were 100 years ago. Still perfectly relevant and perfectly droll.
This collection is meant to be savoured, rather than gulped.
January 10, 2008
Whew! I'm a born-again Parker fan. This collection of short stories is the editor's attempt to prove she deserves critical acclaim and inclusion in the male-centric literary canon, and I, for one, am sold!
Most of the included stories were written in the 1920s-40s, and they are an illuminating peek at the prevailing pretensions of the time - she skewers societal affectations as well as the battle between the sexes (and the unfortunate lack of open communication between them). "Too Bad," for example, starts with neighbors gossiping about a married couple that is separating - no one can guess that the reason why is that they are just too damn polite to one another and cannot imagine a lifetime of boredom. In "The Lovely Leave," a woman almost sabotages her visit with her military husband, who's on a short leave, because she misses him so much. Women are meant to be "good sports" to such a degree in "Big Blonde" that the protagonist, who usually is a tremendously good sport, becomes a suicidal alcoholic.
Parker has an amazingly sharp wit, and she points it at all the right people - Ugly Americans, cheating men, superficial women, etc. As the editor notes, "When Parker goes for the jugular, it's usually a vein with blue blood in it."
Most of the included stories were written in the 1920s-40s, and they are an illuminating peek at the prevailing pretensions of the time - she skewers societal affectations as well as the battle between the sexes (and the unfortunate lack of open communication between them). "Too Bad," for example, starts with neighbors gossiping about a married couple that is separating - no one can guess that the reason why is that they are just too damn polite to one another and cannot imagine a lifetime of boredom. In "The Lovely Leave," a woman almost sabotages her visit with her military husband, who's on a short leave, because she misses him so much. Women are meant to be "good sports" to such a degree in "Big Blonde" that the protagonist, who usually is a tremendously good sport, becomes a suicidal alcoholic.
Parker has an amazingly sharp wit, and she points it at all the right people - Ugly Americans, cheating men, superficial women, etc. As the editor notes, "When Parker goes for the jugular, it's usually a vein with blue blood in it."
January 31, 2021
1920’lerde yazılan bu öyküler -en geçi 1930’lar- genellikle kadın-erkek ilişkileri üzerine. Aynı zamanda senaryo yazarı olan Dorothy Parker atmosfer yaratmada ve diyaloglarda hakikaten usta ama bence asıl olarak her şekilde ele aldığı aşk ilişkilerini gözlemlemekte müthişmiş.
ghosting’miş, lovebombing’miş, toksik ilişkiymiş, bugün şikayet ettiğimiz her ama her şey var. valla benim anladığım kadın erkek ilişkilerinde yüzyıllar da geçse değişen bir şey olmuyor. kaçan kovalanır sözü de doğru, ilişkilerin bir satranç maçı gibi hamlelerle ilerlemesi de...
ve tabii bir kadın olarak erkeklere bol bol küfrettim okurken :)
ghosting’miş, lovebombing’miş, toksik ilişkiymiş, bugün şikayet ettiğimiz her ama her şey var. valla benim anladığım kadın erkek ilişkilerinde yüzyıllar da geçse değişen bir şey olmuyor. kaçan kovalanır sözü de doğru, ilişkilerin bir satranç maçı gibi hamlelerle ilerlemesi de...
ve tabii bir kadın olarak erkeklere bol bol küfrettim okurken :)
October 8, 2007
Aunque siempre he adorado a Dorothy Parker, tardé tiempo en animarme a leer este libro, porque me da pánico la sensación de vacío que te queda cuando te das cuenta que ya no leerás nada nuevo de uno de tus escritores favoritos. Sé que me quedan sus poemas, pero no es lo mismo. Cuando por fin lo empecé, me propuse leerlo en tres etapas, porque el libro también se divide en tres partes. Luego, decidí que lo leería en dos, que lo dejaría justo a la mitad, porque como se trata de relatos tampoco importaba mucho dónde lo dejara. Pero al final he acabado leyendo las 737 páginas de una vez, porque nadie escribe cuentos como Dorothy Parker. Nadie sabe dar el giro final, que todo buen cuento necesita, mejor que ella.
Mi cuento favorito de todos los tiempos debe ser 'Cara de cavall', porque es perfecto, no le falta nada, si se le quitara o se le añadiera algo se estropearía. Es divertido y a la vez profundamente deprimente. Es sobre una enfermera fea y sola que cuida una mujer que acaba de tener un hijo, tanto ella como su marido la desprecian y les da grima, pero aún así no dejan de adularla. Es tan cruel; Parker no tiene piedad. Vaya, como la inmensa mayoría de sus cuentos, porque no hay ninguno que me desagrade. Sus cuentos muchas veces son sobre la hipocresía, las mentiras y el engaño. Sobre cómo engañamos y mentimos a nuestras parejas y a todos los que nos rodean, y también sobre cómo nos engañamos a nosotros mismos. El mundo es un lugar donde priman las apariencias y nunca podemos decir lo que realmente pensamos o queremos. Otro cuento que me tiene el corazón robado es 'Una rossa corpulenta', simplemente porque la protagonista es alguien a quién no le permiten nunca que exteriorice su tristeza, si lo hace todos le dicen que siempre está lloriqueando y que se queja de vicio para que todos la consuelen y la mimen. Realmente duro, pero divertido.
Aunque la verdad es que incluso con argumentos tan tópicos como el del hombre que se enrolla con la secretaria, o como el de los padres que son unos agarrados y unos castradores, consigue hacer cuentos originales, porque lo que importa no es lo que cuenta, sino cómo lo hace, con ese sarcasmo amargo y ese ojo clínico para retratar nuestras miserias cotidianas. Cada vez me doy más cuenta que lo que importa son los personajes. El argumento, el estilo y todo lo demás es secundario. Parker es capaz de construir unos personajes que son tremendamente reales, todos aborrecibles pero perfectamente reconocibles. Parker no se muerde nunca la lengua, critica sin piedad a sus personajes, y la mayoría de veces es cruel, pero no adopta el punto de vista superior del censor, porque nos deja a entender que sabe que en el fondo todos somos así, en mayor o menor grado. Algo que me fascina es como incluso haciendo simplemente un monólogo, sin dejar ver su punto de vista, sólo con las palabras del protagonista, consigue ponerlo en ridículo y dejarnos claro cuáles son sus defectos y sus mentiras. Es que nadie escribe cuentos como Dorothy Parker.
Mi cuento favorito de todos los tiempos debe ser 'Cara de cavall', porque es perfecto, no le falta nada, si se le quitara o se le añadiera algo se estropearía. Es divertido y a la vez profundamente deprimente. Es sobre una enfermera fea y sola que cuida una mujer que acaba de tener un hijo, tanto ella como su marido la desprecian y les da grima, pero aún así no dejan de adularla. Es tan cruel; Parker no tiene piedad. Vaya, como la inmensa mayoría de sus cuentos, porque no hay ninguno que me desagrade. Sus cuentos muchas veces son sobre la hipocresía, las mentiras y el engaño. Sobre cómo engañamos y mentimos a nuestras parejas y a todos los que nos rodean, y también sobre cómo nos engañamos a nosotros mismos. El mundo es un lugar donde priman las apariencias y nunca podemos decir lo que realmente pensamos o queremos. Otro cuento que me tiene el corazón robado es 'Una rossa corpulenta', simplemente porque la protagonista es alguien a quién no le permiten nunca que exteriorice su tristeza, si lo hace todos le dicen que siempre está lloriqueando y que se queja de vicio para que todos la consuelen y la mimen. Realmente duro, pero divertido.
Aunque la verdad es que incluso con argumentos tan tópicos como el del hombre que se enrolla con la secretaria, o como el de los padres que son unos agarrados y unos castradores, consigue hacer cuentos originales, porque lo que importa no es lo que cuenta, sino cómo lo hace, con ese sarcasmo amargo y ese ojo clínico para retratar nuestras miserias cotidianas. Cada vez me doy más cuenta que lo que importa son los personajes. El argumento, el estilo y todo lo demás es secundario. Parker es capaz de construir unos personajes que son tremendamente reales, todos aborrecibles pero perfectamente reconocibles. Parker no se muerde nunca la lengua, critica sin piedad a sus personajes, y la mayoría de veces es cruel, pero no adopta el punto de vista superior del censor, porque nos deja a entender que sabe que en el fondo todos somos así, en mayor o menor grado. Algo que me fascina es como incluso haciendo simplemente un monólogo, sin dejar ver su punto de vista, sólo con las palabras del protagonista, consigue ponerlo en ridículo y dejarnos claro cuáles son sus defectos y sus mentiras. Es que nadie escribe cuentos como Dorothy Parker.
January 4, 2022
Every story felt the same to me, snippets of a somewhat-entitled life. Most are just a few pages long and kind of start nowhere and finish in the same place.
The writing was often clever though, and succinct, and at times, a bit daring (for the times?) but I just couldn't see the 'big deal' about any of them.
But a fair enough read, and possibly required reading for many of her devoted fans.
Three stars, that's enough.
The writing was often clever though, and succinct, and at times, a bit daring (for the times?) but I just couldn't see the 'big deal' about any of them.
But a fair enough read, and possibly required reading for many of her devoted fans.
Three stars, that's enough.
October 11, 2018
Amusing, certainly, and the stories are evocative of their time, but they tend to the repetitive and the snide, somewhat sour humor grates eventually.
September 8, 2012
So deliciously bitter. Bitter, bitter, bitter. Very funny, very mean. I read the intro last, and it had something to say that I had kind of started thinking about myself: people ("small" or "narrow"-minded critics) consider Parker's stories to be about "small" or "narrow" topics, but that's almost beside the point. They're about a small social world and a limited number of people, but they're about so much more. Like self-delusion and cruelty and passive-aggression and superficiality masquerading as substance. And she calls B.S. on all of it. Good for her. And so they're not small. They're about how people deal with their circumstances, and the stories are timeless. The figures she describes are recognizable instantly--add some cell phones and facebook and take away Prohibition, and it still reads the same. I don't know that that makes me like people any better, but it makes me appreciate the sharp observational skills of Dorothy Parker.
November 6, 2021
Ευφυες και μοναδικό διαμάντι που λέγεται Dorothy Parker. Οι ιστορίες της μοναδικές και μια κινηματογραφικη μορφή. Το έχεις δίπλα σου και το διαβάζεις οποία στιγμή θέλεις. ΥΓ να διαθέσετε χρόνο και διάθεση και αναζητήστε το δυστυχώς στα αγγλικά και εύχομαι σύντομα κάποιες από τις ιστορίες της στα ελληνικά. Μοναδική γυναίκα και δημιουργική συγγραφέας και ποιήτρια. ΥΓ να διαλέξετε αλκοολ και μουσική 20'ς ή 30'ς.
January 24, 2012
I was oddly disappointed in this. Not in the quality of the writing, which is superb. The author sets out to accomplish a task, and the technique of writing is bent and twisted to her will, achieving her vision exactly as her mind's eye must have seen it. My complaint is simply with her intended effect. I didn't enjoy it.
So it's great writing, but I didn't care for the message. She was such a profoundly unhappy person, tormented by life's whims, being a women in the times she lived, the spectre of depression in an age without silver ribbons, and the cliched but never unfailingly tragic alcoholism she shared with so many of her profession. You can taste all this like a metallic spoon in the soup of her craft. For some, this will tinge it with naturalistic realism. For me, even sadness can still hold the promise of eventual hope. But you won't find it in these stories.
So it's great writing, but I didn't care for the message. She was such a profoundly unhappy person, tormented by life's whims, being a women in the times she lived, the spectre of depression in an age without silver ribbons, and the cliched but never unfailingly tragic alcoholism she shared with so many of her profession. You can taste all this like a metallic spoon in the soup of her craft. For some, this will tinge it with naturalistic realism. For me, even sadness can still hold the promise of eventual hope. But you won't find it in these stories.
September 11, 2023
Libro muy recomendado, por ser una de las pioneras o como se quiera decir de la literatura irónica y anti-costumbrista en los años 20.
La verdad es que escribir de forma tan sarcástica contra las normas sociales de una época en la que todavía había segregación racial y en el que a las mujeres en literatura se las tenía apartadas (bueno, no solo en la literatura), tiene mucho mérito.
Pero quizás por la "lejanía" de los años 20 o por un costumbrismo (aunque sea para hacer mofa) tan ajeno (ley seca, nueva york, amores telefónicos, secretarias amantes), me ha parecido repetitivo.
La verdad es que escribir de forma tan sarcástica contra las normas sociales de una época en la que todavía había segregación racial y en el que a las mujeres en literatura se las tenía apartadas (bueno, no solo en la literatura), tiene mucho mérito.
Pero quizás por la "lejanía" de los años 20 o por un costumbrismo (aunque sea para hacer mofa) tan ajeno (ley seca, nueva york, amores telefónicos, secretarias amantes), me ha parecido repetitivo.
June 2, 2007
pithy vignettes of obnoxious people. becomes tedious if you read the stories together as a string--you are introduced to dolt after wanker, know them for 5 minutes, and then move on to the next daft character. it has the collective effect of being at a wretched cocktail party where you want to put all the guests on mute.
March 14, 2021
I had never read her work- wow what acerbic new yorker tales , i had heard of her wit and sarcastic writing. they were bold for the times and a clear foto of men and women of those times. The ladies who lunch and join clubs and play bridge and go after friends husbands- something else
November 3, 2021
قلب کاستاردی
مو طلایی محبوب
تو خیلی هم خوب بودی
-نشر سیفتال. شادی سلطان زاده
----------------
مرخصی عاشقانه
جنسیت
فقط چند ساعت
روز باشکوه
لولیتا
نشر روزگار نو. مرضیه خسروی
مو طلایی محبوب
تو خیلی هم خوب بودی
-نشر سیفتال. شادی سلطان زاده
----------------
مرخصی عاشقانه
جنسیت
فقط چند ساعت
روز باشکوه
لولیتا
نشر روزگار نو. مرضیه خسروی
August 29, 2021
4.5
Amo demais os contos dela!
Amo demais os contos dela!
May 16, 2014
Ms. Parker's work, whether essays, stories or poetry are humor born of sadness, filled with sarcasm and pity for the human condition. "Big Blonde" shows us how women who made bad choices about men may have lived in the restrictive 1930's, but also calls to mind some of the bad choices celebrities make so messily in public today. Parker makes even the very private hell of a woman waiting for a man's telephone call both snarkily funny and shamingly familiar. Unlike James Thurber, Ms. Parker breathes no atmosphere of innocence. Her stories are informed by the hypocrisy, stupidity and ignorance of the human race. She suffered no fools gladly, not even the well-meaning ones. Her sharpness of vision and high ethical standards made her own life a constant misery, but they also made for incisive writing.
January 18, 2025
I used to date a girl called Megan, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, and she was and still is one of the funniest people I ever met. But before we met in person, I lived on the East Coast, and we knew each other only as pen pals. She sent me a photo of her with this book on her bed in the background. Dorothy Parker's Complete Stories. And she talked about the fast-talking, brilliantly sarcastic author a lot. (We were in our early 20s then; drinking culture was raw, new, and fascinating for us). On second thought, I don't know why I put that in parentheses. But it still intrigues me, that culture, that daily life. I'm still a regular patron of the bar scene, especially when traveling for work. Or when I'm home.
Knowing Megan was so fond of Dorothy Parker was all I needed to hear, so I picked up a copy of this book for myself. Back then I used to work for an ambulance factory. Every day, cross-legged on my workbench during lunch break, I sat with a sandwich from the vending machine and a Dr. Pepper, and I read from the book by this unusual and rather intensely socially expressive Dorothy Parker, whoever she was. Her world seemed different from mine, several million miles away from anything I'd known in my past or present. Still, something in it caught my young fancy. It was an attitude. A direct line of processing the real story hiding like a stalking criminal behind the crap people talk. Page by page, I thought, now there's an idea! Like I'd be planning a dinner party in my head, reading Dorothy's observances on her culture like a manual for disassembling the false cathedrals of mine, studying the best delivery of a line, and a perfect time at which to pounce!
Having fun. I was having fun with it, and it made me think rather highly of Megan as well, to be so versed in this kind of stuff already. Honestly, at that age, so much of it went clear over my head. Whether I realized it or not, it was an intellectually tricky read. And I was self-conscious, (attempting) to be world-conscious — a young man cynical in his questions and skeptical of the answers. But at 23 or whatever, I was also culturally undernourished, as we all are in our beer-swilling, 24-hour-party days, and Dorothy Parker's deep word trickery went over my head much of the time. Though I paid her my undivided attention, she was saying many things I couldn't hear. I did not yet know it isn't just what the author says in this kind of story arc, but often, the real message may be what they "conveniently" leave out of a narrative.
And it's not so "convenient" at all, but heavily crafted social commentary.
Well, it's 2024/25, and that same book (still in good condition) kept calling me. "Remember me, you dolt?," it cried from the shelves. So I decided to read the entire book again because I felt maybe it would speak to me where I'm at now, in my late 40s. Here I am, having finished and closed the book a second time — and maybe it doesn't exactly relate to me specifically, or the life I've lived, but something's there I couldn't detect the first time. The sadness. The helplessness of it all. The depression, the years. Dorothy Parker is brilliant! I wish I could go back and thank Megan again for turning me onto this book, but I don't know where she is anymore. We didn't have a falling out, so much as we started seeing less and less of each other after breaking up, and I just plain don't know where she is anymore.
Dorothy Parker's stories where drinking is a key component, to me, are monolithic and phenomenal, and I wish I could go back in time and read them in magazines of the day. Maybe with Megan, in our own Book Club, at a bar. In 2025, this book is amazing to me. Just like Megan was, in whatever year we dated (I can't remember the exact year). We broke up and stayed friends for a long time, but people lose that tight connection sometimes, until it's loose, then hardly there.
Megan, where are you? What fresh hell is this?
Knowing Megan was so fond of Dorothy Parker was all I needed to hear, so I picked up a copy of this book for myself. Back then I used to work for an ambulance factory. Every day, cross-legged on my workbench during lunch break, I sat with a sandwich from the vending machine and a Dr. Pepper, and I read from the book by this unusual and rather intensely socially expressive Dorothy Parker, whoever she was. Her world seemed different from mine, several million miles away from anything I'd known in my past or present. Still, something in it caught my young fancy. It was an attitude. A direct line of processing the real story hiding like a stalking criminal behind the crap people talk. Page by page, I thought, now there's an idea! Like I'd be planning a dinner party in my head, reading Dorothy's observances on her culture like a manual for disassembling the false cathedrals of mine, studying the best delivery of a line, and a perfect time at which to pounce!
Having fun. I was having fun with it, and it made me think rather highly of Megan as well, to be so versed in this kind of stuff already. Honestly, at that age, so much of it went clear over my head. Whether I realized it or not, it was an intellectually tricky read. And I was self-conscious, (attempting) to be world-conscious — a young man cynical in his questions and skeptical of the answers. But at 23 or whatever, I was also culturally undernourished, as we all are in our beer-swilling, 24-hour-party days, and Dorothy Parker's deep word trickery went over my head much of the time. Though I paid her my undivided attention, she was saying many things I couldn't hear. I did not yet know it isn't just what the author says in this kind of story arc, but often, the real message may be what they "conveniently" leave out of a narrative.
And it's not so "convenient" at all, but heavily crafted social commentary.
Well, it's 2024/25, and that same book (still in good condition) kept calling me. "Remember me, you dolt?," it cried from the shelves. So I decided to read the entire book again because I felt maybe it would speak to me where I'm at now, in my late 40s. Here I am, having finished and closed the book a second time — and maybe it doesn't exactly relate to me specifically, or the life I've lived, but something's there I couldn't detect the first time. The sadness. The helplessness of it all. The depression, the years. Dorothy Parker is brilliant! I wish I could go back and thank Megan again for turning me onto this book, but I don't know where she is anymore. We didn't have a falling out, so much as we started seeing less and less of each other after breaking up, and I just plain don't know where she is anymore.
Dorothy Parker's stories where drinking is a key component, to me, are monolithic and phenomenal, and I wish I could go back in time and read them in magazines of the day. Maybe with Megan, in our own Book Club, at a bar. In 2025, this book is amazing to me. Just like Megan was, in whatever year we dated (I can't remember the exact year). We broke up and stayed friends for a long time, but people lose that tight connection sometimes, until it's loose, then hardly there.
Megan, where are you? What fresh hell is this?
July 4, 2021
Pues a ver al libro en sí como libro le daría una estrella porque son >600 páginas de relatos cortos, se hace pesado y cuesta avanzar (hay que ir consumiéndolo en pequeñas dosis - yo lo he intercalado con otros tantos libros).
Pero todos los relatos me han encantado, me fascina cómo esa visión cínica de la sociedad de 1920-1940 sigue aplicando casi al 100% a la sociedad de hoy en día
Pero todos los relatos me han encantado, me fascina cómo esa visión cínica de la sociedad de 1920-1940 sigue aplicando casi al 100% a la sociedad de hoy en día
February 2, 2018
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Read
September 2, 2019So far, I've only read "Big Blonde."
November 23, 2018
[1924] Really enjoyed her stories. Loved her writing - smart, edgy, funny. Much of it felt very modern. The relationships, feelings, conversations that she explored made me feel that not much has changed in the last (almost) hundred years. Enjoyed it more for having read a few stories at a time, rather than all at once.
January 15, 2020
Narrativa completa de Dorothy Parker
: ¡4,5 estrellas!
¡Tenía que llegar ella para poner mis primeras cinco estrellas de este año!
No hace falta aclarar que este libro me encantó desde el principio hasta el final y que tengo una nueva autora favorita, las estrellas lo dicen todo. Además, considero que en una compilación de cuentos y relatos es más difícil poder mantener un estilo constante, ese hilo conductor de coherencia que te va llevando de una historia a la siguiente. Pero Parker lo logra, sin siquiera esforzarse, porque es simplemente genial.
Me es evidente que fue una pionera en mostrarse cómo era y en escribir lo que pensaba; no, fue y es única.
En esta antología, donde los textos se disponen en forma cronológica, es posible apreciar cómo el interés de Dorothy Parker salta de un tema a otro, y por supuesto que también podemos disfrutar de su inmenso talento. En una época en la que muchos callaban, y más aún las mujeres, ya sea por imposición cultural o por falta de cultura, ella no dudó en describir lo que sucedía. Básicamente, de eso tratan sus escritos: relatar lo que ocurría, el comportamiento social y aquellos tópicos de los que no estaba bien visto hablar. Era una crítica de pura cepa, una observadora natural, una escritora sin filtros, y ella lo supo. Mediante distintos personajes, aborda temáticas de diversa índole, como problemas de familia, las dietas y la relación de las personas con la comida, la discriminación, la miseria humana, la hipocresía social, el egoísmo, la rivalidad entre las clases sociales, entre amigos y parejas, las contradicciones e inseguridades, la histeria, el alcohol, la guerra, la política; en resumen, podría decirse que escribía sobre la vida misma.
Sin embargo, lo que la vuelve magnífica es su escritura, ya que todo lo analiza bajo una lupa con el más ingenioso humor.
En particular, a mí me gustaron sus monólogos, tan sarcástica, estupenda y graciosa.
Una cualidad en común de estos cuentos, y por ende de la autora, es que me hacían sentir que se trataba de una nueva vieja amiga, que venía, se sentaba a mi lado y me platicaba acerca de un conocido o algo que le había acaecido. Los personajes, por su lado, son tantos y tan reales, que es inevitable que en algún tramo de la lectura no te recuerde a alguien determinado, o incluso a una misma. Y de eso sólo resta reírnos.
No obstante, tampoco ello significa que la ironía impida abordar los temas con seriedad. Al contrario, Parker sabía sobre lo que escribía y cómo lo hacía. La crítica dura expone situaciones y conductas sociales que muchas veces resultan penosas, por lo que sentimos lástima al leerlas, y a su vez nos reímos, porque así lo hacía ella.
A pesar de que es verdad que hay quienes pueden llegar a sentirse incómodos o tocados por sus observaciones, pienso que no debería importar demasiado y he aquí mis razones. En primer lugar, no es nada personal. Parker podía ridiculizar a terceros con semejante soltura, debido a que era la primera en reírse de sí misma; la ofensa sólo causaría más risa. Por otra parte, el hecho de que todo concluya con alguna de sus frases burlonas y brillantes hace que seguir leyendo valga la pena, absolutamente.
La Narrativa completa de Dorothy Parker es un fiel testimonio literario de quién fue esta mujer, pues las historias aquí contadas hablan sobre la vida, y lo hacen de una manera muy especial. Ella describe y estudia lo que ve, y con un gran manejo de la ironía, nos enseña lo absurdos, infantiles, dramáticos e incoherentes que podemos llegar a ser en determinadas circunstancias (y a juzgar por el tiempo, parece que lo seguiremos siendo). Son pocas las oportunidades en la que un escritor te hace sentir que querés ser su amigo. Hoy, yo sé que me habría encantado ser su amiga, aunque probablemente Dorothy Parker se hubiese reído de eso también.
¡Tenía que llegar ella para poner mis primeras cinco estrellas de este año!
No hace falta aclarar que este libro me encantó desde el principio hasta el final y que tengo una nueva autora favorita, las estrellas lo dicen todo. Además, considero que en una compilación de cuentos y relatos es más difícil poder mantener un estilo constante, ese hilo conductor de coherencia que te va llevando de una historia a la siguiente. Pero Parker lo logra, sin siquiera esforzarse, porque es simplemente genial.
Me es evidente que fue una pionera en mostrarse cómo era y en escribir lo que pensaba; no, fue y es única.
En esta antología, donde los textos se disponen en forma cronológica, es posible apreciar cómo el interés de Dorothy Parker salta de un tema a otro, y por supuesto que también podemos disfrutar de su inmenso talento. En una época en la que muchos callaban, y más aún las mujeres, ya sea por imposición cultural o por falta de cultura, ella no dudó en describir lo que sucedía. Básicamente, de eso tratan sus escritos: relatar lo que ocurría, el comportamiento social y aquellos tópicos de los que no estaba bien visto hablar. Era una crítica de pura cepa, una observadora natural, una escritora sin filtros, y ella lo supo. Mediante distintos personajes, aborda temáticas de diversa índole, como problemas de familia, las dietas y la relación de las personas con la comida, la discriminación, la miseria humana, la hipocresía social, el egoísmo, la rivalidad entre las clases sociales, entre amigos y parejas, las contradicciones e inseguridades, la histeria, el alcohol, la guerra, la política; en resumen, podría decirse que escribía sobre la vida misma.
Sin embargo, lo que la vuelve magnífica es su escritura, ya que todo lo analiza bajo una lupa con el más ingenioso humor.
En particular, a mí me gustaron sus monólogos, tan sarcástica, estupenda y graciosa.
Una cualidad en común de estos cuentos, y por ende de la autora, es que me hacían sentir que se trataba de una nueva vieja amiga, que venía, se sentaba a mi lado y me platicaba acerca de un conocido o algo que le había acaecido. Los personajes, por su lado, son tantos y tan reales, que es inevitable que en algún tramo de la lectura no te recuerde a alguien determinado, o incluso a una misma. Y de eso sólo resta reírnos.
No obstante, tampoco ello significa que la ironía impida abordar los temas con seriedad. Al contrario, Parker sabía sobre lo que escribía y cómo lo hacía. La crítica dura expone situaciones y conductas sociales que muchas veces resultan penosas, por lo que sentimos lástima al leerlas, y a su vez nos reímos, porque así lo hacía ella.
A pesar de que es verdad que hay quienes pueden llegar a sentirse incómodos o tocados por sus observaciones, pienso que no debería importar demasiado y he aquí mis razones. En primer lugar, no es nada personal. Parker podía ridiculizar a terceros con semejante soltura, debido a que era la primera en reírse de sí misma; la ofensa sólo causaría más risa. Por otra parte, el hecho de que todo concluya con alguna de sus frases burlonas y brillantes hace que seguir leyendo valga la pena, absolutamente.
La Narrativa completa de Dorothy Parker es un fiel testimonio literario de quién fue esta mujer, pues las historias aquí contadas hablan sobre la vida, y lo hacen de una manera muy especial. Ella describe y estudia lo que ve, y con un gran manejo de la ironía, nos enseña lo absurdos, infantiles, dramáticos e incoherentes que podemos llegar a ser en determinadas circunstancias (y a juzgar por el tiempo, parece que lo seguiremos siendo). Son pocas las oportunidades en la que un escritor te hace sentir que querés ser su amigo. Hoy, yo sé que me habría encantado ser su amiga, aunque probablemente Dorothy Parker se hubiese reído de eso también.
November 14, 2011
Dorothy Parker is a genius. I had thought she was just a brilliant person with a tart tongue, but she can really write.
She is something of a modern Jane Austen, skewering the hypocrisy of all and sundry, usually using their own words. The humor can be quite dry, but Ms Parker also demonstrates a deep and warm sympathy for some of her unfortunate characters (such as the unattractive nurse who is so judged on her appearance). From "Such A Pretty Picture," she says of her industrious main character: "She was wont to tell people, somewhat redundantly, that she never employed any sort of cosmetics." Ms Parker is also disarmingly funny about herself when she shows up in a few of the stories.
My favorites were, perhaps, "Cousin Larry" and "The Custard Heart." I listened to the audio, and the narrator really went all out with "Cousin Larry," and how could you not? Marvellous.
Some of her stories seem boring and repetitious, but then she manages to come up with a new, mocking view of her selfish, narrow-minded protagonists.
My only warning to the Dear Reader would be that the pieces at the end (discs 16 to 18, for me) seemed more like writing exercises with a closing clever twist, not so much actual stories.
You could perhaps skip "The Lovely Leave," which is in fact too repetitious. And there should be a way to appreciate "Mrs Hofstadter of Josephine Street;" maybe it could be Bowdlerized? Or the Dear Reader could listen and attempt to answer the question: If the wealthy Caucasian writer-narrator presents herself as completely inept, does this justify a story mocking a servile African-American servant? My feeling is it does not. But it is softened slightly by Parker's mockery of the writer-narrator (?autobiographical).
Who knew that people were thinking they were clever and saying "absotively, posilutely!" in 1921?
A selection: "Mrs Hough suffers from hallucinations. No, suffer is the wrong word. She manages to get quite a good time out of them."
She is something of a modern Jane Austen, skewering the hypocrisy of all and sundry, usually using their own words. The humor can be quite dry, but Ms Parker also demonstrates a deep and warm sympathy for some of her unfortunate characters (such as the unattractive nurse who is so judged on her appearance). From "Such A Pretty Picture," she says of her industrious main character: "She was wont to tell people, somewhat redundantly, that she never employed any sort of cosmetics." Ms Parker is also disarmingly funny about herself when she shows up in a few of the stories.
My favorites were, perhaps, "Cousin Larry" and "The Custard Heart." I listened to the audio, and the narrator really went all out with "Cousin Larry," and how could you not? Marvellous.
Some of her stories seem boring and repetitious, but then she manages to come up with a new, mocking view of her selfish, narrow-minded protagonists.
My only warning to the Dear Reader would be that the pieces at the end (discs 16 to 18, for me) seemed more like writing exercises with a closing clever twist, not so much actual stories.
You could perhaps skip "The Lovely Leave," which is in fact too repetitious. And there should be a way to appreciate "Mrs Hofstadter of Josephine Street;" maybe it could be Bowdlerized? Or the Dear Reader could listen and attempt to answer the question: If the wealthy Caucasian writer-narrator presents herself as completely inept, does this justify a story mocking a servile African-American servant? My feeling is it does not. But it is softened slightly by Parker's mockery of the writer-narrator (?autobiographical).
Who knew that people were thinking they were clever and saying "absotively, posilutely!" in 1921?
A selection: "Mrs Hough suffers from hallucinations. No, suffer is the wrong word. She manages to get quite a good time out of them."
November 19, 2020
collected short stories and sketches orig. published 1920-1958
Though Parker is well known for her sharp witticisms, as with most short story collections, some of these are better than others. Many can be reduced to "woman and man having a quarrel" or "2 people not getting along very well" but there is a bit of social commentary. I'm used to reading things straight through so have had to adjust to reading one story or maybe two at a time, otherwise you risk getting overly tired of a parade of similarly complaining characters. I did end up skimming through/skipping a handful of these.
My favorite story was "The Garter" (1928); the later stories tended to show more skill than the earliest ones.
Though Parker is well known for her sharp witticisms, as with most short story collections, some of these are better than others. Many can be reduced to "woman and man having a quarrel" or "2 people not getting along very well" but there is a bit of social commentary. I'm used to reading things straight through so have had to adjust to reading one story or maybe two at a time, otherwise you risk getting overly tired of a parade of similarly complaining characters. I did end up skimming through/skipping a handful of these.
My favorite story was "The Garter" (1928); the later stories tended to show more skill than the earliest ones.
December 26, 2008
I started reading this book at random and was drawn in by the wit and insight into the psychology of the chronically pretentious. The story that captured my interest was about an inane woman who had just returned from a 3 week trip to France and kept "accidentally" saying words in French, because she had apparently forgotten English, her native language. I like the cynical depictions of the completely fake America in the 50s and 60s, but her stories got a little redundant after a while.
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