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Loading... Narrativa completa (original 1995; edition 2006)by Dorothy Parker (Author)
Work InformationComplete Stories by Dorothy Parker (1995)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. 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. Dorothy Parker's short stories are arranged chronologically in this collected works edition. This is a bit of a shame, because her earliest stories from 1923 were terribly misanthropic. Incisive and darkly humorous, yes, but just filled with contempt for people in general. I was not in the right mood to read about horrible people being awful to each other or not communicating their needs, no matter how wittily or insightfully recounted, so I dragged through the first nine (stopping at "Little Curtis"), then put off the rest until my library borrow reached the renewal limit, at which point I noted the three stories listed on the back as Parker's most renowned and/or best, and attempted to tackle them in a single evening. These were from later on, I believe - and while maintaining the same skill in description and airing of personal foibles, weren't nearly so misanthropic. To be fair, "Big Blonde" was still awfully depressing with its depiction of, well, depression and alcoholism and suicide, but it has a heart and care for the central character in ways that the earlier stories I'd tried didn't. Likewise, "The Lovely Leave" was frustrating with the lack of communication and failure to connect between the characters like in "Too Bad", but it lacks the sense of inevitable doom. Of the stories I read, I most enjoyed "The Standard of Living". There's a cynicism to it and sharpness in life disappointments, but it has a cosier almost hopeful feel rather than misanthropic, which was more the kind of thing I was in the mood to read. Probably, at a different time, I would enjoy the other stories more, but for now, I don't want to read about miserable selfish lonely people. I am glad I tried these stories, and I wouldn't reject anything by Dorothy Parker if recommended to me in the future. There are still so many of her short stories I didn't touch, after all. no reviews | add a review
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Dorothy Parker's quips and light verse have become part of the American literary landscape, but, as this collection of her complete short stories demonstrates, 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. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.52Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1900-1944LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. Penguin AustraliaAn edition of this book was published by Penguin Australia. |
Reading all her short stories in the order that they were published really allowed me to see how her thinking, especially on social issues, developed over the years. Her sketches were a pleasant surprise since I had not been familiar with them. ( )