I was underwhelmed. "Big Blonde" was great, but many of the stories felt formulaic, cranked out and dated. The essays, reviews and letters were better, but even there, after awhile they became repetitious.

I enjoyed the author's reviews of plays, musicals, and books quite a bit, and also her letters. Her short stories were fine, although I hated every story that was told in the first person narrative aside from "Mrs. Hofstadter on Josephine Street". The poetry I mostly skipped, not because of any lack on the author's part but because poetry doesn't do anything for me; I just end up bored. ( )

The best being the best. This would be my desert island book. I never get sick of Parker's witty poetry and short stories. Having this book is like having a witty friend around who is always ready with a cocktail. I am not exaggerating when I say that if I could only read one book for the rest of my life if would be this one. ( )

"And if, somewhere in that process, you part with a certain amount of sanity, doubtless you are better off without it. There is too much sense in this world anyway."

So much, which would be baller if most of it was entertaining - alas. The poetry is abysmal (which she admits during a later-in-life interview, she wasn't contradicted). Short stories are where she shines, sometimes: The Lovely Leave; Mr. Durant; The Waltz; Song of the Shirt, 1941; A Telephone Call; Soldiers of the Republic; Too Bad; Big Blonde; Lady with a Lamp. Love her one-sided conversations/quasi-monologues and her portrayal of the perfect woman throughout - "Men like a good sport" (all satire, of course). Also enjoyed her review of Redemption by Leo Tolstoi and her Introduction: The Seal in the Bedroom and Other Predicaments by James Thurber. Reading while depressed was a perk, I fear even less would have resonated otherwise.

"Ah, the sun's coming out! It's going to be a lovely day, after all. Isn't that the meanest thing you ever saw in your life?" ( )

Dorothy Parker was famous for her satirical wit, a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table, and one of the earliest writers for the New Yorker. She was once arrested for protesting the execution of the murderers Sacco and Vanzetti. Later, she pursued screenwriting in Hollywood and was later blacklisted there for her involvement in left-wing politics. She was married three times, twice to the same man; and had four suicide attempts, none successful. After her death, her ashes lay for 21 years on a shelf at a funeral home and then in the office of a Wall Street law firm, before she was finally buried at the headquarters of the NAACP. Parker loved one-liners and word play, and this is a compilation of short stories, magazine articles, letters, interviews, book and theater reviews, and poetry written by Parker over a period of roughly 60 years.

Although Parker deplored the idea of writing “like a woman,” in her short fiction she often focused on themes that women frequently write about. Her short stories tend to focus on the relationships between the sexes, and the differences that arise out of relationships between men and women. She was really good at watching people and listening to them, which is how she can write an entire story in dialogue and still get her message across by implication. Two of my favorite stories among the ones collected here are “Big Blonde,” the story of a young woman’s alcoholic decline (based on personal experience, which makes all the more powerful); and “The Game,” in which a young married couple have a dinner party at which a game (resembling Charades), innocent at first, is played. This last story highlights the fact that there’s a hidden meaning (or multiple meanings) for every action.

But her stories don’t really capture what Dorothy Parker might have been like as a person; for that, you have to look at her other works for that famous, biting wit. In her book reviews, Parker reviews not only the book but the author as well (“Dashiell Hammett is as American as a sawed-off shotgun.”). Even when she’s trying to review other people, Parker is pretty self-deprecatory; so she’ll interject her reviews and articles with personal anecdotes that poke fun at her own age, for example. I love an author who can roll with the punches, so to speak, and someone who can make fun of themselves gets extra points with me. In all, this collection is an impressive representation of the oeuvre of Dorothy Parker’s work, life, and personality. ( )