Fran Lebowitz (1) (1950–)

Fran is the aunt in New York City that I wish I had. It was Netflix that did it to me. I watched her in Scorcese's "Pretend It's a City" and found her humour charming. She lives in her own tiny world while adoring the enormous size of New York City around her. No computer, no cellphone, no more writing since the 1990s, just a talk circuit. She does travel a bit to talk elsewhere, including internationally, but I don't get the sense that she enjoys it all that much. Mostly she just wants to show more stay home and sleep in, surrounded by her 10,000+ books. I can relate.

Fran was in the right place at the right time, chumming with a number of other 1970s icons in New York's art scene, which she has pointed out was very small at the time so it was easy to know everyone. She was the Dorothy Parker of the set, never a star player but an interesting bit figure who Was There. She did obtain some personal fame through the published works collected here. What's most relevant about these essays to Fran's story is that they were how she earned her living in her early twenties and thirties. Writing does not seem to have been a strong passion for her, but it was something she could do, it paid the bills, and it was a whole sight better than some of the other options. Reading these today should not be an exercise in seeking lasting wisdom or high comedy, else it's sure to disappoint. Think of them as comprising a dressed up personal memoir, capturing the topics she had on her mind as a young person in that time and place.

I'm more enamoured with the Fran I know from recent YouTube interview videos than the one who wrote these pages; 70-ish in the 20s, vs. 20-ish in the 70s (copyright Fran). I wish I knew her well enough to drop her a text. No good, she has no cellphone. A handwritten letter then, just to ask how she's doing. show less

I love Fran Lebowitz but this audiobook tended to drag in parts because her monotone, which is great in short spurts, aggravated me. That doesn't mean it wasn't funny in many parts because it was. I especially loved her diet tips (in a word, smoke a lot) and dealing with realtors as you try to get an apartment in NY. At any rate, these essays are from the 90s and the funniest thing I've heard her say was quite recently when she said, "You don't know anyone as stupid as Donald Trump." Truer show more words were never spoken. show less

Only about halfway through and already I feel like this will be a DNF for me, or at least something I won't view too favorably in hindsight. This was sold to me as an essay collection, but these pieces seem much more like extended jokes than essays. And, of course, as everyone else has noted, the collection feels aggressively dated. Part of why I say "extended jokes" is because many of them rely on some sort of cultural set-up that someone, in the time, would likely have absorbed show more automatically just by living in New York, but that has been completely lost to history. Unfortunately, there is never enough context provided to remedy this defect, nor is the prose itself engaging or witty enough to regularly stand on its own.

The long and the short is that unless you are from Ms. Lebowitz's era, or have extensive knowledge of the cultural mores of the era, I'd not recommend this particular reader. show less

My favorite comedian is the curmudgeonly Fran Leibowitz. Her humor is dry but very funny. I recently saw a documentary about her, and they mentioned two books she had written back in the late 70s. Metropolitan Life was easy to find, and I gleefully spent a day enjoying this novel. Fran is an author, public speaker, and the definitive New Yorker. She grew up in Morristown, NJ. I recently saw her on Jimmie Fallon’s late night TV show, and I was happy to see she is her still her crabby, funny show more self.

Metropolitan Life is a collection of essays covering all sorts of annoyances. Here are some samples. In “Vocational Guidance for the Truly Ambitious,” she offers a check list to help sort out a career path. “If my house or apartment was on fire the first thing I would save would be … a. My son, b. My cat, c. My boyfriend, d. My mention in Women’s Wear Daily; […] My idea of a good party is … a. A big, noisy bash, with lots of liquor and lots of action, b. Good talk, good food, good wine, c. A few close friends for dinner and bridge, d. One to which I cannot get invited; […] My pet peeve about my husband is his …a. Snoring, b. Habit of leaving the cap off the toothpaste, c. Drinking buddies, d. Stubbornness, e. Imperial Concubines” (12-13).

Fran has somewhat of an aversion to children, and she has a list of cons. For instance, “Even when freshly washed and relieved of all obvious confections, children tend to be sticky. One can only assume that this has something to do with not smoking enough.” Also, “Children respond inadequately to sardonic humor and veiled threats” (34).

Fran also has an aversion to scientists. She writes, “It is only to be expected that people of this sort are not often invited out. After all, a person who might well spend an entire evening staring at a kitchen utensil has little to recommend him as a dinner companion. It is far too risky—particularly if the person in question is moved to share his thoughts with others. Physical laws are not amusing. Mathematical symbols do not readily lend themselves to double entendre. Chemical properties are seldom cause for levity. These facts make it intolerable for a gathering ever to include more than one scientist. More than one scientist at a table is bad luck—not mention bad taste.” (78).

In regard to food, she muses, “If there was no such thing as food, Oyster Bay would be called just Bay, and for the title of The Cherry Orchard Chekhov would have chosen A Group of Empty Trees, Regularly Spaced” (111). I did say she had a dry sense of humor? An epithet ascribed to her is “I can assure you, in real life, there is no such thing as algebra.” Fran Leibowitz is an acquired taste to be sure, and she is not above sprinkling a few dated non-politically correct comments in her writings. But I find her hilarious, and you might too, so give Metropolitan Life by Fran Lebowitz a try. You could become a fan. 5 stars

--Jim, 5/30/17 show less