I only wish Dot Parker were still alive to make her cynical, yet comical judgements on the state of men, women and the relationships they attempt to have. Parker can be both dark and divine at the same time. Her irrepressible wit shines through in this collection of both her short stories and poems. Readers will come away with a few choice one-liners worth repeating to their own irreverant female friends.

My rating (3 stars) reflects an attempt to average the very uneven contents. Some very excellent pieces contrast with others that have not aged well. The monologues and soliloquies in particular among the stories read today as rather quaint; far from their contemporary impact as so very original. Some pieces have mainly scholarly interest; fewer hold up to the standard of being entertaining to a modern audience. The poems are more successful in this regard. Although the poems are best sampled in small nibbles as there are very many and by-and-large very much like their fellows. ( )

I have lived by the words of her poetry since I was in high school, and I still love it. ( )

A delightfully wicked read and reference. ( )

Her poetry hit on the themes my fourth grade rhymes did -- love and suicide, mainly. The big difference between my work and hers is that she used words like bedight, leal, quondam and cerements and made references to Abelard and Heloise, Alfred Lunt and La Fontaine. Reading her poetry and prose was like reading the New Yorker -- kind of hip, kind of now, books and magazines, something is always flying over your head and after reading it you feel a little smarter and a little dumber at the same time.
Parker's short stories are brief and excellent. I grew annoyed that so many of her characters spent their time ordering their servants around and swilling martinis, but my heart nearly stopped when I read "Big Blonde," "The Custard Heart" and "Arrangement in Black and White." For all the silliness of the smart set she describes, Parker could deftly handle scenes of high, real emotional drama.
She ranks up there with Hemingway, Chekhov and Babel in my book!!! ( )