The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

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, show more 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. show less

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 show more 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. show less

This book, published in 1951 and subtitled “Eleven Campus Stories,” is a collection of short stories written by Max Shulman from 1945 through 1951 and previously published in such magazines as Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, and The Saturday Evening Post. In his opening note, Shulman notes that they “are, therefore, clean and wholesome narratives” (this was definitely the early days of Cosmopolitan!). All of the stories have college student Dobie Gillis as the main character, but his age and major vary from story to story, as do the girls he is chasing.

The book was the basis for the 1953 movie The Affairs of Dobie Gillis as well as the 1959-1963 CBS TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, with Dwayne Hickman and Bob show more ("Gilligan") Denver. I haven’t seen either, but from reading the description of the movie plot, it seems to be based on the book’s story called “She Shall Have Music,” with a little bit of “Love of Two Chemists” (a chemistry lab explosion) and “The Unlucky Winner” (a plagiarized English essay). Dobie is in high school when the TV series starts, and later briefly in the Army and then in junior college. Money-hungry Thalia Menninger from “The Sugar Bowl” is often Dobie’s dream girl, and the stories “You Think You Got Trouble?” and “Everybody Loves My Baby” form the basis of episodes in the series.

For me, the best story in the book (which is also the title and basis for one of the TV series episodes)is “Love is a Fallacy.” Apparently it’s often used in beginning logic classes as a humorous way to introduce types of fallacies. Despite the importance of a raccoon coat to the plot, this story and the others are so humorous that such dated references can be easily overlooked. show less

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.

Maybe 3.5? He certainly knows how to turn a phrase. Funny but better when spread over time.

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 show more 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_Loves_of_Dobie_Gillis show less