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Auntie Mame #2
Around the World with Auntie Mame
Encore, Encore! The brilliant sequel to the smash bestseller Auntie Mame is back and the reviews are in ...
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
93 people are currently reading
1990 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Dennis
38 books146 followersEdward Everett Tanner III spent the last years of his life as a butler, in spite of having been one of the most popular novelists of the 1950s and 1960s. A bisexual, he had a wife and family, but also pursued relationships with men on the side.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 222 reviews
September 29, 2023
Rating: 4 rollicking stars of five
Oh dear, oh dear, however shall I survive? There is no more Auntie Mame-age available, nor ever shall be, since Dennis is dead these 35 years. The sequel to Auntie Mame appeared in 1958, and was published of the pieces that didn't fit the original frame of "My Most Unforgettable Character." (Remember those? Reader's Digest was such a bland magazine, but those were always fun to read.) This time the frame is Patrick trying to keep his irascible wife Pegeen from killing him for letting Mame have their son for a little vacation...of two and a half years!...by telling her of his own life with Mame. Highly sanitized, of course!
This 2003 edition even restores a snarky little satire on Soviet collectivism that was excised from the original book..."Auntie Mame and Mother Russia"...that made me laugh out loud. Well, that's not such a big deal, really, since the entire book made me laugh out loud several dozen times.
How I appreciate Broadway Books (once a unit of Doubleday, now part of Random House's Crown Publishing Group) for rescuing these hilarious romps from final obscurity. And, I failed to mention in my review of Auntie Mame, the cover and title-page art is just *perfect*! Edwin Fotheringham, the artist, even has a perfect Mame-ish name.
In Auntie Mame, Patrick is whisked off at the end of his "education" at St. Boniface Academy for a graduation trip to Europe with Mame. The misadventures of Mame in Venice alone ("Horsefeathers" by itself has the power to make me fall about laughing, you'll see why when you read the book) would make this book worth reading...but Lady Gravell-Pitt! Schloss Stinkenbach! Sari Mont d'Or and Mrs. Cantwell doing the demolition derby dance in their little Lebanese retreat, whence Mame retires after a camel-riding incident that...well, never mind, that would be telling instead of reading, and you should read the book.
Really. Honest. You *should* read the book.
Oh dear, oh dear, however shall I survive? There is no more Auntie Mame-age available, nor ever shall be, since Dennis is dead these 35 years. The sequel to Auntie Mame appeared in 1958, and was published of the pieces that didn't fit the original frame of "My Most Unforgettable Character." (Remember those? Reader's Digest was such a bland magazine, but those were always fun to read.) This time the frame is Patrick trying to keep his irascible wife Pegeen from killing him for letting Mame have their son for a little vacation...of two and a half years!...by telling her of his own life with Mame. Highly sanitized, of course!
This 2003 edition even restores a snarky little satire on Soviet collectivism that was excised from the original book..."Auntie Mame and Mother Russia"...that made me laugh out loud. Well, that's not such a big deal, really, since the entire book made me laugh out loud several dozen times.
How I appreciate Broadway Books (once a unit of Doubleday, now part of Random House's Crown Publishing Group) for rescuing these hilarious romps from final obscurity. And, I failed to mention in my review of Auntie Mame, the cover and title-page art is just *perfect*! Edwin Fotheringham, the artist, even has a perfect Mame-ish name.
In Auntie Mame, Patrick is whisked off at the end of his "education" at St. Boniface Academy for a graduation trip to Europe with Mame. The misadventures of Mame in Venice alone ("Horsefeathers" by itself has the power to make me fall about laughing, you'll see why when you read the book) would make this book worth reading...but Lady Gravell-Pitt! Schloss Stinkenbach! Sari Mont d'Or and Mrs. Cantwell doing the demolition derby dance in their little Lebanese retreat, whence Mame retires after a camel-riding incident that...well, never mind, that would be telling instead of reading, and you should read the book.
Really. Honest. You *should* read the book.
May 25, 2016
Wow. The cover has a blurb on it that says "Funnier than the first book" and I even snorted when I saw that. Pretty bold claim. And you know what? It is. I laughed all the way through this book. When we last saw her, Auntie Mame came back from trip abroad to spirit away Patrick's 7 year old son a trip to India. It's now 2 and a half years later and Patrick is falling apart. He hates his office, because no news from the State Department over his kidnapped son, and hates to go home at night because his wife detests him for letting his crazy aunt steal their child.
So the book already starts off pretty bold itself and not really in a "haha funny" spot. And just when I was what? Is this some grimdark thriller now, where Mame is a child abuser, and he calms his wife down at their sad and lonely Xmas, recounting a time when Mame kidnapped him his senior year in high school and went on an around the world trip. As he tells his story, it has to all be highly santized for the wife, because in each country, something nutty happened where for the most part, they have to flee in the night.
Mame takes on the French stage, English high society (ah Lady Gravell-Pitt), a comedy of errors with Vera (there's a lot of Vera in this book, which is a wonderful thing) in Biarritz, siccing the fascists on a Southern racist in Venice, outwitting Nazis in the Tyrol mountains, life on a communal farm in Russia, starting trouble in the Middle East, and embroiled in gunsmuggling in China. I think what this book does so well for a comedy is Mame is very smart (and a Smithie), without being omniscient like a Jeeves. She speaks several languages, some better than others, can whip up batches of hootch, and she often has great or sly rejoiners. Dowager Countess has nothing on her.
And the overall message of the book when he's done remembering his year abroad with Mame, he's no longer really mad at her, and his wife seems comforted. Why this didn't come up like 2.5 years earlier, not sure, and then Mame shows up with the kid (and a yak) and all is forgiven. Like the first book, not ennnnitirely sold on the framing device, but ultimately you can't stay mad at Mame.
So the book already starts off pretty bold itself and not really in a "haha funny" spot. And just when I was what? Is this some grimdark thriller now, where Mame is a child abuser, and he calms his wife down at their sad and lonely Xmas, recounting a time when Mame kidnapped him his senior year in high school and went on an around the world trip. As he tells his story, it has to all be highly santized for the wife, because in each country, something nutty happened where for the most part, they have to flee in the night.
Mame takes on the French stage, English high society (ah Lady Gravell-Pitt), a comedy of errors with Vera (there's a lot of Vera in this book, which is a wonderful thing) in Biarritz, siccing the fascists on a Southern racist in Venice, outwitting Nazis in the Tyrol mountains, life on a communal farm in Russia, starting trouble in the Middle East, and embroiled in gunsmuggling in China. I think what this book does so well for a comedy is Mame is very smart (and a Smithie), without being omniscient like a Jeeves. She speaks several languages, some better than others, can whip up batches of hootch, and she often has great or sly rejoiners. Dowager Countess has nothing on her.
And the overall message of the book when he's done remembering his year abroad with Mame, he's no longer really mad at her, and his wife seems comforted. Why this didn't come up like 2.5 years earlier, not sure, and then Mame shows up with the kid (and a yak) and all is forgiven. Like the first book, not ennnnitirely sold on the framing device, but ultimately you can't stay mad at Mame.
November 29, 2018
Ricordo di aver letto il primo di notte, ridendo fino alle lacrime nel silenzio della notte. E' stato uno spasso. Speravo di ritrovare la stessa verve, ma non è stato così. La lettura scorre veloce e fa piacere ritrovare quella pazza sballata della zia Mame, fra fronzoli e Deuteronomio sempre a suo agio, ma il primo aveva una brillantina addosso che questo non ha. Pazienza.
April 29, 2022
I don’t write reviews.
Satisfying. This book is a delight and had me chuckling quite a bit. Auntie Mame gets into hijinks in a variety of countries with a variety of people leading to a variety of results. Patrick and Mame travel, sometimes with the famous Vera Charles, as Mame tries to put the finishing touches on Patrick’s education before he starts college. Interestingly, in this story, Mame learns a few things too: don’t make big decisions while drunk, don’t let your friends marry fortune hunters, don’t get involved with creepy aristocrats on-the-rocks, and don’t play communism commune.
Dennis’ wit really got me this time around. I think I’ll be checking out his other offerings as well.
Satisfying. This book is a delight and had me chuckling quite a bit. Auntie Mame gets into hijinks in a variety of countries with a variety of people leading to a variety of results. Patrick and Mame travel, sometimes with the famous Vera Charles, as Mame tries to put the finishing touches on Patrick’s education before he starts college. Interestingly, in this story, Mame learns a few things too: don’t make big decisions while drunk, don’t let your friends marry fortune hunters, don’t get involved with creepy aristocrats on-the-rocks, and don’t play communism commune.
Dennis’ wit really got me this time around. I think I’ll be checking out his other offerings as well.
February 20, 2012
Primo libro che ho acquistato per il Kindle, Around the World With Auntie Mame è il seguito del fortunatissimo Auntie Mame. Patrick è ormai cresciuto, e cerca di consolare la moglie Pegeen, preoccupata per la lontananza del figlioletto decenne, sparito due anni e mezzo prima insieme a Zia Mame per un giro all'estero e ora da mesi disperso a tutti gli effetti.
E' così che Patrick racconta alla moglie una versione edulcorata del suo viaggio insieme a Zia Mame, molti anni prima, mentre noi lettori riceviamo la versione integrale. Zia Mame è decisamente una figura sopra le righe, ed è incredibile l'equilibrio tra il suo personaggio e quello del ben più equilibrato Patrick. I due però si danno benissimo il cambio, per esempio nel penultimo capitolo di questo romanzo, quando Patrick si prende una scuffia terribile per una giovane inglese timorata di Dio...
Una serie di vignette molto molto divertenti, da Parigi a Venezia all'Austria alla Russia (capitolo reintegrato nelle edizioni moderne, dato che a quanto pare in quella originale era stato tagliato) che ci riconciliano come sempre con una Zia Mame estremamente eccentrica e spesso fuorviata, ma sempre di buon cuore e priva di veri pregiudizi.
Adatto a una lettura moderata, con le dovute pause, altrimenti stufa. Preso a giuste dosi, semplicemente perfetto! E fa venire voglia di riprendere in mano il primo volume...
E' così che Patrick racconta alla moglie una versione edulcorata del suo viaggio insieme a Zia Mame, molti anni prima, mentre noi lettori riceviamo la versione integrale. Zia Mame è decisamente una figura sopra le righe, ed è incredibile l'equilibrio tra il suo personaggio e quello del ben più equilibrato Patrick. I due però si danno benissimo il cambio, per esempio nel penultimo capitolo di questo romanzo, quando Patrick si prende una scuffia terribile per una giovane inglese timorata di Dio...
Una serie di vignette molto molto divertenti, da Parigi a Venezia all'Austria alla Russia (capitolo reintegrato nelle edizioni moderne, dato che a quanto pare in quella originale era stato tagliato) che ci riconciliano come sempre con una Zia Mame estremamente eccentrica e spesso fuorviata, ma sempre di buon cuore e priva di veri pregiudizi.
Adatto a una lettura moderata, con le dovute pause, altrimenti stufa. Preso a giuste dosi, semplicemente perfetto! E fa venire voglia di riprendere in mano il primo volume...
February 28, 2011
The most interesting thing about the #4 bestseller of 1958 is its publishing history. The original manuscript included a chapter, "Auntie Mame and Mother Russia." which was not in the 1958 edition. Due to the recent Senator McCarthy and his communist witch hunt, Harcourt Brace deemed the chapter too controversial. The missing episode was found years later by the author's widow and finally included in a 1990 reprint.
That leads to the second interesting feature of this book. It is much funnier, more satirical, and a superior read to Auntie Mame, the 1955 bestseller, which I disliked as a formulaic and silly piece of fluff.
In Around the World With Auntie Mame, the fabulously rich, sexy and irrepressible woman travels to Paris, Venice, Germany, Iraq and Russia. Patrick Dennis uses the wacky encounters of Mame to satirize everything and everyone, but especially Americans and British who live in other countries. He makes intelligent fun of the pre-WWII politics and conditions in these countries, where Mame gets embroiled in everything from matchmaking between a Christian girl and a Jewish boy to funding a communal enterprise in Russia.
I gained more respect for the author and now thank him for an educational romp. How prescient of him to put Mame in Iraq and have her barely escaping arms dealers in the China Sea.
July 7, 2009
read this YEARS ago and loved it-doesn't every child want an Auntie Mame?
January 10, 2018
Ecco quindi che veniamo a conoscenza di quelle avventure che nel primo libro erano a malapena accennate.
Del viaggio a Parigi che li porta in teatri scabrosi, della permanenza a Londra dove assistono i nobili sguazzare nel fango.
E poi non mancano fantasmi, feste a tema, mille spasimanti per Zia Mame!
E poi ancora complotti, esplosioni (non potevano mancare!) e il solito Ito che guida contromano!
E alla fine di tutto, dopo mille pasticci, beh possiamo affermare che Zia Mame ha comunque ciò che le spetta.
In questo secondo volume l'ho trovata più ingenua che mai! Quante volte mi sono adirata mentre leggevo di come si faceva calpestare con estrema facilità, non sapeva proprio essere crudele e la vendetta si e no sa cos'è!
E' inoltre piuttosto credulona e si fa sfruttare senza aprir bocca.
Fortuna che con lei c'era Patrick!
Alla fine, però, quel che conta è che anche questo, è stato proprio un bel viaggio.
Del viaggio a Parigi che li porta in teatri scabrosi, della permanenza a Londra dove assistono i nobili sguazzare nel fango.
E poi non mancano fantasmi, feste a tema, mille spasimanti per Zia Mame!
E poi ancora complotti, esplosioni (non potevano mancare!) e il solito Ito che guida contromano!
E alla fine di tutto, dopo mille pasticci, beh possiamo affermare che Zia Mame ha comunque ciò che le spetta.
In questo secondo volume l'ho trovata più ingenua che mai! Quante volte mi sono adirata mentre leggevo di come si faceva calpestare con estrema facilità, non sapeva proprio essere crudele e la vendetta si e no sa cos'è!
E' inoltre piuttosto credulona e si fa sfruttare senza aprir bocca.
Fortuna che con lei c'era Patrick!
Alla fine, però, quel che conta è che anche questo, è stato proprio un bel viaggio.
August 25, 2020
4.75/5-.
In questo libro ritroviamo la sferzante ironia e la comicità tipiche dell'autore, con l'apparizione di nuovi personaggi, stravaganti, comici e molto ben caratterizzati, in ogni capitolo.
Il tutto "condito" con bellissime ambientazioni e numerosi cenni storici.
Inutile dire che mi ha fatto ridere, seppur un po' meno rispetto al primo libro, "Zia Mame", e mi è piaciuto moltissimo.
È stato bello ritrovare Patrick e Mame e vivere le loro (dis)avventure in giro per il mondo, mi è quasi dispiaciuto terminare la lettura e lasciarli.
Riconfermo il fatto che zia Mame è un mood di vita iconico con uno humor brillante.
Prima o poi vorrò sicuramente rileggere qualche capitolo di questo libro.
In questo libro ritroviamo la sferzante ironia e la comicità tipiche dell'autore, con l'apparizione di nuovi personaggi, stravaganti, comici e molto ben caratterizzati, in ogni capitolo.
Il tutto "condito" con bellissime ambientazioni e numerosi cenni storici.
Inutile dire che mi ha fatto ridere, seppur un po' meno rispetto al primo libro, "Zia Mame", e mi è piaciuto moltissimo.
È stato bello ritrovare Patrick e Mame e vivere le loro (dis)avventure in giro per il mondo, mi è quasi dispiaciuto terminare la lettura e lasciarli.
Riconfermo il fatto che zia Mame è un mood di vita iconico con uno humor brillante.
Prima o poi vorrò sicuramente rileggere qualche capitolo di questo libro.
June 7, 2018
Una lectura que he descubierto gracias a reseñas leídas y que he encontrado muy divertida... aunque con un cierto toque agridulce. Mame, excéntrica, rica, encantadora, camaleónica, con un corazón de oro; pero al mismo tiempo terca, crédula, inocente (según para que). Su sobrino, Patrick, el que intenta, desde pequeño, marcarle unos límites y poner un poco de cordura en su vida.
En este segundo libro nos narra un viaje por Europa que hicieron antes que Patrick empezara la universidad. Narrado en primera persona, por parte de Patrick, pasa de una situación inverosimíl y rocambolesca a otra; y siempre, iniciadas por Mame, con intención de hacer algo bueno.
Muy recomendable.
En este segundo libro nos narra un viaje por Europa que hicieron antes que Patrick empezara la universidad. Narrado en primera persona, por parte de Patrick, pasa de una situación inverosimíl y rocambolesca a otra; y siempre, iniciadas por Mame, con intención de hacer algo bueno.
Muy recomendable.
November 15, 2010
Around the World picks up where Auntie Mame leaves off: With Patrick and Pegeen saying good bye to their son Michael as he joins Auntie Mame in India for what was supposed to be 2 weeks.
Two years later, nearing Christmas, Michael hasn't returned home and the postcards and letters have stopped coming in. Patrick and Pegeen are besides themselves with worry about where in the world Michael is with Auntie Mame and the trouble they are getting into. Pegeen probes Patrick to tell her what happened on his trip around the world with Auntie Mame and thus our story begins.
I enjoyed this sequel just as much as I enjoyed the first book. When Patrick tells the reader (not his wife, as his adventures would surely send her to an early grave) about his trip around the world, he is 17 or 18. This being the trip that Auntie Mame promised him in his last weeks of school at St. Boney Face if he would just help her with a pregnant Agnes.
If the first book came off as being a bit risque for the time, this one is even more so! Which, for me, makes it that much more entertaining. Patrick is less of a dolt this time around as well. His teenage self a little more filled out. I felt a little more understanding towards his disagreements with Mame as she seems to have also let her common sense take a world trip but in the opposite direction.
Vera is back too, which is a lot of fun. I love how she flips between her Pittsburgh personality and her faux British stage personality on a whim. Mame gets a whole new cast of potential uncles for Patrick including an honorable Lord in the British court, a Spanish (I think) lothario, a Nazi, and a super creepy Uncle Beau impersonator (sort of impersonator, he looks like Beau if you're really, really drunk).
Mame is a munitions expert, a thief, and a matchmaker all rolled into one. Just another really great read from Patrick Dennis and more Mame love!
Two years later, nearing Christmas, Michael hasn't returned home and the postcards and letters have stopped coming in. Patrick and Pegeen are besides themselves with worry about where in the world Michael is with Auntie Mame and the trouble they are getting into. Pegeen probes Patrick to tell her what happened on his trip around the world with Auntie Mame and thus our story begins.
I enjoyed this sequel just as much as I enjoyed the first book. When Patrick tells the reader (not his wife, as his adventures would surely send her to an early grave) about his trip around the world, he is 17 or 18. This being the trip that Auntie Mame promised him in his last weeks of school at St. Boney Face if he would just help her with a pregnant Agnes.
If the first book came off as being a bit risque for the time, this one is even more so! Which, for me, makes it that much more entertaining. Patrick is less of a dolt this time around as well. His teenage self a little more filled out. I felt a little more understanding towards his disagreements with Mame as she seems to have also let her common sense take a world trip but in the opposite direction.
Vera is back too, which is a lot of fun. I love how she flips between her Pittsburgh personality and her faux British stage personality on a whim. Mame gets a whole new cast of potential uncles for Patrick including an honorable Lord in the British court, a Spanish (I think) lothario, a Nazi, and a super creepy Uncle Beau impersonator (sort of impersonator, he looks like Beau if you're really, really drunk).
Mame is a munitions expert, a thief, and a matchmaker all rolled into one. Just another really great read from Patrick Dennis and more Mame love!
July 26, 2017
A good sequel for those who enjoyed the first book (or the film version). Some of their adventures I found a bit flat (Biarritz), and others dark (Venice), but overall the story worked fine for me; although, the first couple of chapters in Paris and London were stronger, with the rest seeming more . . . slapstick or formulaic.
Narrator manages solid voices for Patrick and Mame, as well as the many secondary characters.
Narrator manages solid voices for Patrick and Mame, as well as the many secondary characters.
October 14, 2017
Time and again, I say I don't like sequels. Yet, like the rest of the world, I am drawn to them, every now and then.
I couldn't stay away. I'm too in love with our lady Mame. I needed more of her. So I took the sequel. I don't regret it, but it's not the best it could've been. I really wanted this to be as good as its predecessor, because I NEEDED to have the story continue seamlessly. There were too many hitches.
It started perfectly. Auntie Mame and Patrick are in Paris, with her good friend Vera Charles, who I didn't get enough of in the book. The theater antics and writing are superb, and continue into London, where Mame gets roped into Lady Gravel-Pitt's scam. (Scams are a common theme in this one.) That, too, was priceless. In England, Mame's love interests are a nice touch. She had Beaux, but that was very speedy. Then it fell a part.
The weirdness goes to a new level, with Amadeo. Mame wants to save Vera from getting scammed by stealing her thief boyfriend, wounding her royal, British lover, who innocently stood by and let his feeling get hurt? How did she think that was going to work out. Auntie Mame damaged her friendship with Vera and her romance to help in the most convoluted way, instead of simply trying to expose him, like Patrick did with Lady Gravel-Pitt. The part about trapping him on the plane and parachuting was dumb. That chapter is topped off with Vera getting back at her by marrying Mame's boyfriend. Why the soap-opera style drama?
Each chapter also felt a little repetitive, and too much was ripped off from the first book. First, Amadeo was another scammer, which is pointless, because we already had one in the previous chapter. If wasn't enough, another person comes in hoping to take Mame's money. This time it's Beaux's cousin, who happens to show up in Italy, where Mame and Patric are. At the same time, in Venice, Vera happens to run into an old friend she used to act with. Why all the coincidences? Beaux's cousin Elmore is another leach, but Mame forces herself to fall in love with him, for good ol' times. Emore was just over the top, and not in the way Patrick is good at writing. At this point, the writing lapsed a little. It picked back up again, when Mame gets to Austria.
She gets roped into living in a crappy castle.I actually liked that chapter, but there were still a little of similarities from what was just read before, in terms of mooches. Anti-semitism starts to pop u, a la the Upsons, the family Patrick was about to marry into. Following that, a commune in the country of Georgia.
I hated the part when they were in Beruit. It reminded me too much of when Mame and Patrick were in Maine, with the sisters, fake upper class society, and more prejudices against Jews, which, again, felt a lot like the Upsons.
It was still good. How could it not be? It's Mame!
I couldn't stay away. I'm too in love with our lady Mame. I needed more of her. So I took the sequel. I don't regret it, but it's not the best it could've been. I really wanted this to be as good as its predecessor, because I NEEDED to have the story continue seamlessly. There were too many hitches.
It started perfectly. Auntie Mame and Patrick are in Paris, with her good friend Vera Charles, who I didn't get enough of in the book. The theater antics and writing are superb, and continue into London, where Mame gets roped into Lady Gravel-Pitt's scam. (Scams are a common theme in this one.) That, too, was priceless. In England, Mame's love interests are a nice touch. She had Beaux, but that was very speedy. Then it fell a part.
The weirdness goes to a new level, with Amadeo. Mame wants to save Vera from getting scammed by stealing her thief boyfriend, wounding her royal, British lover, who innocently stood by and let his feeling get hurt? How did she think that was going to work out. Auntie Mame damaged her friendship with Vera and her romance to help in the most convoluted way, instead of simply trying to expose him, like Patrick did with Lady Gravel-Pitt. The part about trapping him on the plane and parachuting was dumb. That chapter is topped off with Vera getting back at her by marrying Mame's boyfriend. Why the soap-opera style drama?
Each chapter also felt a little repetitive, and too much was ripped off from the first book. First, Amadeo was another scammer, which is pointless, because we already had one in the previous chapter. If wasn't enough, another person comes in hoping to take Mame's money. This time it's Beaux's cousin, who happens to show up in Italy, where Mame and Patric are. At the same time, in Venice, Vera happens to run into an old friend she used to act with. Why all the coincidences? Beaux's cousin Elmore is another leach, but Mame forces herself to fall in love with him, for good ol' times. Emore was just over the top, and not in the way Patrick is good at writing. At this point, the writing lapsed a little. It picked back up again, when Mame gets to Austria.
She gets roped into living in a crappy castle.I actually liked that chapter, but there were still a little of similarities from what was just read before, in terms of mooches. Anti-semitism starts to pop u, a la the Upsons, the family Patrick was about to marry into. Following that, a commune in the country of Georgia.
I hated the part when they were in Beruit. It reminded me too much of when Mame and Patrick were in Maine, with the sisters, fake upper class society, and more prejudices against Jews, which, again, felt a lot like the Upsons.
It was still good. How could it not be? It's Mame!
September 15, 2024
En esta segunda parte, el autor se aprovecha de la preocupación de su esposa por el rapto de su hijo a manos de la tía Mamé, para seguir contándonos más de sus aventuras con esa estrafalaria señora que no salía de una situación complicada para entrar en otra, pero siempre como un gato, caía bien parada.
En estas memorias Patrick es un joven adolescente a punto de llegar a la mayoría de edad y aunque espera liberarse de su tía, manifiesta gran cariño por ella y hace lo imposible por apoyarla en cada uno de sus emprendimientos, visitando Paris con su querida amiga Vera, pasando luego a Londres con intención de entrevistarse con la reina, para después darse una vuelta por Biarrits donde hubo de darse algunos mal entendidos amorosos que le llevaron a Italia con intención de liberarse de sus pesares, aunque no todo salió como esperaban y en este caso terminó huyendo rumbo a Austria y de ahí a Rusia con el fin de experimentar con el socialismo, o al menos con su concepto particular de una granja comunal, para nuevamente tener que huir hasta el lejano Oriente donde ya cansada de no encontrar un nuevo amor, se dedicó a mediar por una joven pareja que al estilo de Romeo y Julieta tenían a sus familias en contra. Para al fin regresar a San Francisco.
En fin, que las aventuras son muchas al igual que las risas y carcajadas que el relato provoca fácilmente. Una buena opción para pasar el rato amenamente.
En estas memorias Patrick es un joven adolescente a punto de llegar a la mayoría de edad y aunque espera liberarse de su tía, manifiesta gran cariño por ella y hace lo imposible por apoyarla en cada uno de sus emprendimientos, visitando Paris con su querida amiga Vera, pasando luego a Londres con intención de entrevistarse con la reina, para después darse una vuelta por Biarrits donde hubo de darse algunos mal entendidos amorosos que le llevaron a Italia con intención de liberarse de sus pesares, aunque no todo salió como esperaban y en este caso terminó huyendo rumbo a Austria y de ahí a Rusia con el fin de experimentar con el socialismo, o al menos con su concepto particular de una granja comunal, para nuevamente tener que huir hasta el lejano Oriente donde ya cansada de no encontrar un nuevo amor, se dedicó a mediar por una joven pareja que al estilo de Romeo y Julieta tenían a sus familias en contra. Para al fin regresar a San Francisco.
En fin, que las aventuras son muchas al igual que las risas y carcajadas que el relato provoca fácilmente. Una buena opción para pasar el rato amenamente.
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May 31, 2020look i mean i'm never going to tell you not to read a patrick dennis novel. that being said i'd have to number this among the least essential in the p-denz canon. it's def a joy that the 1st book got a sequel, given that the 1st book slaps, & this one similarly boasts a phenomenal cast of villains (grifters, prigs, boors, literal nazis, &c.). it falls short imo in that, whereas in the 1st book mame's a force bending the universe to her will, here she tends to be blown around by forces out of her control and/or serve as a mark to the aforementioned grifters. the action's all cartoonish in a good way but a little of the magic has leaked out. what's the thing it says on cereal boxes? "contents may settle in transit"? that.
January 15, 2023
3.5 in realtà. Molto divertente come lettura ma molto ripetitiva
June 12, 2016
I've been reading a lot lately about the Broadway musical "Mame" which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The Jerry Herman score is topnotch and it gave Angela Lansbury her start in the musical theater. The musical is based on a book, "Auntie Mame" by Patrick Dennis, which I have never read. This offering is a sequel to that book and so I chose to read it when it was put up as a digital download on BARD, the website used by print disabled people to retrieve books which are part of the talking book program.
Via flashbacks, the book tells of a round the world trip Mame and her nephew, Patrick, take in the late 1930's. They visit Paris, Rome, the Middle East, and other places. As one would expect, it is filled with madcap adventures, some of which are quite funny indeed.
I must say that I had very mixed feelings about this book. There were times when I laughed out loud and times when I was bored to tears. There were times when I thought the author quite creative and other times when I wanted to shout "enough already!" The book is definitely dated as, I suppose, is the musical. But there is enough good in it that it may be worth picking up.
I kept wondering why a sequel was necessary. Many of the stories are quite similar to those which I believe are told in the earlier book. (Since I haven't read it, I may be wrong; it may be that the musical borrowed from both books for its plot, but that's not my understanding.) I became especially tired of hearing how Mame became enthralled with particular people only to discover that they were actually bigots who did little to hide their hateful beliefs. I will grant that Mame dealt with these folks in some rather interesting ways, but it still got old rather quickly.
The character of Auntie Mame has become a bit of a legend in her own right. For the musical, Jerry Herman gave her a song which brilliantly expresses the way she lives: "Open a new window, open a new door, travel a new highway that's never been tried before ..." It's one of my favorites both because it captures her essence so well and because its philosophy is one I fully support. It's interesting to see how the author builds that character in his writing. I will say, however, that I much prefer the theater piece to the book on which it is based, or, more accurately, to its sequel. My imagination didn't do half as good a job at portraying this lovable character as the people I've seen perform the role.
Will I read the first book if it becomes available in digital form? Yes, but only because it will enhance my understanding of the classic musical.
If you have not met Mame, you might want to do so by watching the movie "Auntie Mame" with Rosalind Russell which is often shown on Turner Classic Movies; (this is not the musical, but Russell does such a fine job portraying the lead character that I simply have to recommend it.) If you have the opportunity to see the musical, it's one you will love. The movie adaptation with Lucille Ball is absolutely terrible; not even the great score and the fact that Robert Preston reprised his Broadway role can begin to save it. As far as this book, you may want to give it a try, especially if you either love the musical or enjoyed Dennis's earlier offering on which it is based.
Via flashbacks, the book tells of a round the world trip Mame and her nephew, Patrick, take in the late 1930's. They visit Paris, Rome, the Middle East, and other places. As one would expect, it is filled with madcap adventures, some of which are quite funny indeed.
I must say that I had very mixed feelings about this book. There were times when I laughed out loud and times when I was bored to tears. There were times when I thought the author quite creative and other times when I wanted to shout "enough already!" The book is definitely dated as, I suppose, is the musical. But there is enough good in it that it may be worth picking up.
I kept wondering why a sequel was necessary. Many of the stories are quite similar to those which I believe are told in the earlier book. (Since I haven't read it, I may be wrong; it may be that the musical borrowed from both books for its plot, but that's not my understanding.) I became especially tired of hearing how Mame became enthralled with particular people only to discover that they were actually bigots who did little to hide their hateful beliefs. I will grant that Mame dealt with these folks in some rather interesting ways, but it still got old rather quickly.
The character of Auntie Mame has become a bit of a legend in her own right. For the musical, Jerry Herman gave her a song which brilliantly expresses the way she lives: "Open a new window, open a new door, travel a new highway that's never been tried before ..." It's one of my favorites both because it captures her essence so well and because its philosophy is one I fully support. It's interesting to see how the author builds that character in his writing. I will say, however, that I much prefer the theater piece to the book on which it is based, or, more accurately, to its sequel. My imagination didn't do half as good a job at portraying this lovable character as the people I've seen perform the role.
Will I read the first book if it becomes available in digital form? Yes, but only because it will enhance my understanding of the classic musical.
If you have not met Mame, you might want to do so by watching the movie "Auntie Mame" with Rosalind Russell which is often shown on Turner Classic Movies; (this is not the musical, but Russell does such a fine job portraying the lead character that I simply have to recommend it.) If you have the opportunity to see the musical, it's one you will love. The movie adaptation with Lucille Ball is absolutely terrible; not even the great score and the fact that Robert Preston reprised his Broadway role can begin to save it. As far as this book, you may want to give it a try, especially if you either love the musical or enjoyed Dennis's earlier offering on which it is based.
August 6, 2011
The Auntie Mame movie always seemed to be on when I was at my grandmother's house. She was the only one in our family to have cable and she always seemed to have a hundred or more channels. She was also very liberal with what she let me watch. So there was always at least one playing Auntie Mame and another one showing Monty Python's Flying Circus and one more showing Pink Floyd's The Wall. And if it was late at night, usually one channel somewhere was showing 2001. I've seen all of them more times than I can count thanks to Grandma's cable.
As an adult I decided to Patrick Dennis's books. The first Auntie Mame covers his time with her in New York but it hints at some of their world wind tours together. Around the World with Auntie Mame fills in the blanks by showing what happened to Patrick and Mame on their world tour.
Each chapter is one stop on the itinerary. They get into the usual trouble and Patrick has his eyes open to all sorts of things for better and worse. It was a fun way to armchair travel. It had the same spunk and humor that I remember from the film but didn't see somehow in the first novel.
As an adult I decided to Patrick Dennis's books. The first Auntie Mame covers his time with her in New York but it hints at some of their world wind tours together. Around the World with Auntie Mame fills in the blanks by showing what happened to Patrick and Mame on their world tour.
Each chapter is one stop on the itinerary. They get into the usual trouble and Patrick has his eyes open to all sorts of things for better and worse. It was a fun way to armchair travel. It had the same spunk and humor that I remember from the film but didn't see somehow in the first novel.
May 23, 2011
I love these books and could never say a bad word about them! The second book focuses on Patrick and Mame's travel adventures all over the world. Unlike the first book you see a much shorter period of time, right before WWII and also before Patrick is supposed to begin college. Of course nothing ever goes as planned and Mame and Patrick always manage to get themselves into the craziest of situations. Nevertheless Auntie Mame always escapes with grace and style. I wished this book would never end and that they would visit every country. The book was almost like a comical version of a travel guide. I especially enjoyed the chapter on their visit to Austria and how almost half the words were in German!
September 7, 2020
The sequel to Auntie Mame, describes the around-the-world trip Patrick and Auntie Mamer take after his rather precipitous departure from the St. Boniface Academy, and is narrated by Patrick as he and his wife, Pegeen, await the return of Auntie Mame with their own little boy who have been gone for two and a half years on what was supposed to be a two-week trip.
While it bogs down in places, the chapters on Paris, London (Lady Gravel-Pitt!), Russia and Lebanon (who remembers when Beruit was the Paris of the Middle East?) made me laugh out loud. As we all tire of a Covid lockdown and the increasing toxicity of the Presidential campaign, it's good to have some lighthearted reading that just makes you smile and not think to awfully hard
While it bogs down in places, the chapters on Paris, London (Lady Gravel-Pitt!), Russia and Lebanon (who remembers when Beruit was the Paris of the Middle East?) made me laugh out loud. As we all tire of a Covid lockdown and the increasing toxicity of the Presidential campaign, it's good to have some lighthearted reading that just makes you smile and not think to awfully hard
March 6, 2014
SO.... OH DEAR LORD HOW HAVE I NOT WRITEN A REVIEW FOR THIS... OK... so after LOVING the original... finding out there was a SECOND book.... OMG... of course I had to search for it alas it was not until its re-released in paperback in September 2001 did I find it :). This book like is predecessor is a scathing and mad cap ROMP across the world... I adored this book as much at the first! Anyone who does not like this book (or Auntie Mame" because it is formulaic needs to WAKE UP... THIS IS WHAT THE FORMULAIS MADE FROM... this is the original... LOVE it for that reason alone :). Honestly I do not know if Hollywood has the balls to make this into a movie... not done properly anyway...
October 24, 2008
Patrick's story of growing up with Auntie Mame fills in a missing chapter from the first book -- the tale of their trip to Europe. This book continues in the same vein -- over the top, madcap adventures.
Interesting chapter in here when Mame and Patrick go to the Soviet Union and end up in a commune. Apparently this chapter was not allowed to be published when the book was first published, but they found it and put it in this edition. The book was obviously rewritten (in the 50s) to not include it, but it certainly is an interesting piece, and fun to have it back.
Interesting chapter in here when Mame and Patrick go to the Soviet Union and end up in a commune. Apparently this chapter was not allowed to be published when the book was first published, but they found it and put it in this edition. The book was obviously rewritten (in the 50s) to not include it, but it certainly is an interesting piece, and fun to have it back.
May 13, 2008
Why Patrick Dennis's novels are not all in print is a complete mystery to me. One of the great figures and writers from the Island of Manhattan. Superb humor that is almost slapstick but incredibly witty and sometimes bitchy. This is the sequal to Auntie Mame and it is as good as the original. Go for it!
December 6, 2014
Truly one of the funniest books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Patrick Dennis' wonderfully whacky, crazy, live life to the fullest, Auntie Mame stories are always in my top five funny, must reads list.
March 18, 2025
Sono rimasta molto delusa da questo libro perchè dopo aver letto tempo fa "Zia Mame" avevo pensato di trovarci nuove avventure strampalate e umoristiche della signora Mame e invece le avventure ci sono ma non sono troppo divertenti e risultano anche troppo costruite.
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February 27, 2016Definitely not as charming as the first book, but it is good to "see" Mame again!
January 3, 2015
I just weep at how happy these books make me. I love them. I want everyone in the world to read them, and I want no one to read them because these characters are all mine.
February 19, 2022
And, as a matter of record, Vera would have sold her own mother to the devil for two dollars cash. - 15
Auntie Mama opened the door and was immediately knocked flat by six enormous Russian wolfhounds that kept barking and wagging their tails and licking her face until I could get them off and help her. ‘Vera,’ Auntie Mame gasped, ‘what is this? An animal act?’ ‘No, Mame,’ Vera said apologetically, ‘they’re part of your props. You go on with them in the big love scene.’ ‘Vera! That’s sodomy! I won’t…’ ‘oh, nothing like that, de-ah. See, they like you.’ - 27
‘That’s Sascha, that’s Jascha, there’s Vanya, that’s Pavel and Boris and Morris.’ ‘Morris?’ I said. ‘Well, I can’t remember,’ Vera said nervously. ‘They all sound like Santa Claus’s reindeer.’ - 28
‘Vera, this Empress drag is so heavy I can’t manage the stairs.’ ‘Oh that’s easy,’ Vera said. She gave one of the dogs a whack across the rump and all six of them bounded to the top hauling Auntie Mame up with them. - 33
‘Do you mean to stand there and tell me that this is all you expect me to wear? Well, Vera Charles, if you think I’m going out there in…’ ‘But, Mame,’ Vera said, ‘it’s the most expensive costume in the whole finale. Real nerd and genuine monkey fur. It’s…’ ‘I don’t care if it’s made of the Missing Link. I’m not going out there practically naked with a totally strange unemployed juggler holding up my…’ ‘Oh,’ Vera said airily, ‘if that’s all you’re worried about, Patrick can do the train bit for you. Here you,’ she said to the page boy, ‘dis-robez. Syrup. Shuck. Peel.’ ‘Hey, listen,’ I began. But Vera had my shirt off and was plucking at my belt and the call boy was rapping at the door. - 37
‘Very Charles is a true trouper with a heart of pure gold. What other woman would forgive you for mauling her, for disgracing her in public and for song this’-dramatically Auntie Mame ripped the veil from Vera’s hat and pointed to her swollen, discolored jaw. Mr. Babcock choked. ‘For doing this, Mr. Babcock, to a face that has been dead to drama lovers for the last half-century.’ - 41
Lady Gravell-Pitt was the sort of woman you dislike at first, but after you get to know her a little better you detest her. - 55
There was no question about it, Auntie Mame and Amadeo had fled in the night, leaving only an incoherent note written by Amadeo - I always suspected he was illiterate - 101
Well, I went up to the pilot’s little sort of driver’s seat and said that Amadeo was sick and did the pilot think he could do any tricks that would make him sicker. - 105-106
I poured out two brandies-one for Elmore and one in self-defense. - 126
“That dear Patrick,” she said to Putzi, “such a lover of gay Viennese music.” I took the tickets and flushed them down the toilet. - 160
“What in the name of God are you talking about?” “Hush, dushka, there isn’t any God.” - 200
“Oh, Patrick, poor naive child. Those mitt artists tell that to everyone. I hope you’re not going to be so stupid as to be taken in by some Bulgarian cow in brass curtain rings and Djer Kiss perfume.” - 280
“Greek yacht? This wretched boat is so old I’m sure it’s one Homer was talking about.” - 291
“You don’t suppose it could be Christmas carolers,” Pageen asked, peering out through the blinds. “If it is, get the hose,” I said. - 318
Auntie Mama opened the door and was immediately knocked flat by six enormous Russian wolfhounds that kept barking and wagging their tails and licking her face until I could get them off and help her. ‘Vera,’ Auntie Mame gasped, ‘what is this? An animal act?’ ‘No, Mame,’ Vera said apologetically, ‘they’re part of your props. You go on with them in the big love scene.’ ‘Vera! That’s sodomy! I won’t…’ ‘oh, nothing like that, de-ah. See, they like you.’ - 27
‘That’s Sascha, that’s Jascha, there’s Vanya, that’s Pavel and Boris and Morris.’ ‘Morris?’ I said. ‘Well, I can’t remember,’ Vera said nervously. ‘They all sound like Santa Claus’s reindeer.’ - 28
‘Vera, this Empress drag is so heavy I can’t manage the stairs.’ ‘Oh that’s easy,’ Vera said. She gave one of the dogs a whack across the rump and all six of them bounded to the top hauling Auntie Mame up with them. - 33
‘Do you mean to stand there and tell me that this is all you expect me to wear? Well, Vera Charles, if you think I’m going out there in…’ ‘But, Mame,’ Vera said, ‘it’s the most expensive costume in the whole finale. Real nerd and genuine monkey fur. It’s…’ ‘I don’t care if it’s made of the Missing Link. I’m not going out there practically naked with a totally strange unemployed juggler holding up my…’ ‘Oh,’ Vera said airily, ‘if that’s all you’re worried about, Patrick can do the train bit for you. Here you,’ she said to the page boy, ‘dis-robez. Syrup. Shuck. Peel.’ ‘Hey, listen,’ I began. But Vera had my shirt off and was plucking at my belt and the call boy was rapping at the door. - 37
‘Very Charles is a true trouper with a heart of pure gold. What other woman would forgive you for mauling her, for disgracing her in public and for song this’-dramatically Auntie Mame ripped the veil from Vera’s hat and pointed to her swollen, discolored jaw. Mr. Babcock choked. ‘For doing this, Mr. Babcock, to a face that has been dead to drama lovers for the last half-century.’ - 41
Lady Gravell-Pitt was the sort of woman you dislike at first, but after you get to know her a little better you detest her. - 55
There was no question about it, Auntie Mame and Amadeo had fled in the night, leaving only an incoherent note written by Amadeo - I always suspected he was illiterate - 101
Well, I went up to the pilot’s little sort of driver’s seat and said that Amadeo was sick and did the pilot think he could do any tricks that would make him sicker. - 105-106
I poured out two brandies-one for Elmore and one in self-defense. - 126
“That dear Patrick,” she said to Putzi, “such a lover of gay Viennese music.” I took the tickets and flushed them down the toilet. - 160
“What in the name of God are you talking about?” “Hush, dushka, there isn’t any God.” - 200
“Oh, Patrick, poor naive child. Those mitt artists tell that to everyone. I hope you’re not going to be so stupid as to be taken in by some Bulgarian cow in brass curtain rings and Djer Kiss perfume.” - 280
“Greek yacht? This wretched boat is so old I’m sure it’s one Homer was talking about.” - 291
“You don’t suppose it could be Christmas carolers,” Pageen asked, peering out through the blinds. “If it is, get the hose,” I said. - 318
April 18, 2022
Mame is a singular & wonderful literary creation, a woman who finds great pleasure in disappearing into foreign cultures & customs but is never not her own madcap self. At times, I felt this side-quel to the original Auntie Mame veered into the xenophobic, as when bosom buddy Vera is swept off her feet by the gold-digging Amadeo Armadillo, from Latin America. But most often the connivers & buffoons Mame & Patrick encounter in their trip around the world are US Americans, and not uncommonly they are Mame & Patrick themselves. I will not say this is a book without its problems, but I enjoyed it & after reading the first volume was frankly just thrilled to spend a few more hours in Mame’s company.
August 28, 2022
Las nuevas aventuras de la tía Mame siguen siendo divertidas, en especial cuando viajó con su sobrino Patrick. Me reí mucho con sus aventuras, entre ellas la del "viaje en crucero" y en el "pueblito" en los Alpes. La edad no ha sido obstáculo para que Mame Dennis se meta en problemas, de los cuales sale airosa y sin perder una pizca de elegancia.
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