From the Bookshelf of The Roundtable…

The Portable Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker,

Brendan Gill (Introduction)

Start date: August 1, 2015

Finish date: August 31, 2015

Discussion: Stories

Discussion leader: Sasha

Why we're reading this: Our Short Story group read for August.
[close] Our Short Story group read for August.

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 6 topics — 464 comments total

Stories

Leo Tolstoy - November '16 Short Story author
By Jen · 22 posts · 24 views

last updated Dec 13, 2016 08:59PM

Short Stories nominations for November 2016
By Jen · 20 posts · 35 views

last updated Oct 03, 2016 01:29PM

showing 6 of 6 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jul 31, 2015 El rated it liked it

Shelves: 20th-centurylit-early, 20th-centurylit-late, big-effing-books

I thought everyone knew who Dorothy Parker was, regardless if everyone has read her or not. But then recently I mentioned at work that I was reading her and the guy I was talking to said "Oh, who is Dorothy Parker?"

I read a lot of these stories back in my early 20s, which I think was the right time to read Dorothy Parker for the first time. I was much more impressed back then, like most readers in their early 20s are. But what's funny is that as the yeas have passed, I realized I forgot most of I thought everyone knew who Dorothy Parker was, regardless if everyone has read her or not. But then recently I mentioned at work that I was reading her and the guy I was talking to said "Oh, who is Dorothy Parker?"

I read a lot of these stories back in my early 20s, which I think was the right time to read Dorothy Parker for the first time. I was much more impressed back then, like most readers in their early 20s are. But what's funny is that as the yeas have passed, I realized I forgot most of these stories, or at least what most of the stories were about. Returning now in my late 30s I can still appreciate the sardonic wit Parker is best known for, but I've had many more years of my own jading happen, and now reading Parker is sort of... been there, done that.

Many of her stories are similar, which is not a bad thing in itself. I would recommend breaking up these readings over a longer stretch of time, or you will find yourself feeling a bit under the weather. Yes, there are funny moments, but these stories are mostly those sad-funny moments, where you sort of smirk but you're mostly just sad at the people these events are happening to. It's sort of like everyday life, if you're like me, where you hate the majority of people but still are incredibly sad by the things that you see happening to them.

I never read the reviews back in the day, so I was glad to get out of the stories and into them now. I find her reviews much more palatable - they are intelligent, and entertaining, and I could easily see myself cracking open the paper back in her day just to read her reviews on whichever book she praised or trashed that week. I think that was where her true talent was, in reviews, instead of creating characters and keeping up dialogue in her short stories, some of which were better executed than others.

Her poems... well, I'm not much of a poem-reader right now (I go through phases) and it's hard for me to discuss poems when I'm going through a non-poem phase as I am right now. I did find that she packed a harder punch in the shorter poems than the longer poems, and feel that this could also be said about her short stories as well. Some of the better stories were the shorter ones.

Overall, I still appreciate Parker for her writing, even though I find myself not really enjoying it as much now as I used to. I recommend not listening to Morrissey while reading Dorothy Parker, because you will want to die by the end of the day. ...more

22 likes · Like · see review

Jul 06, 2015 Kai Coates rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: august-2015-roundtable-challenge

Towards the end of the book, Parker reviews Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's and has the following description of Holly Golightly: "an extravagantly unconventional young lady, entertaining to read about, certainly, but the reader... has always the feeling that to know the young woman would be to find her a truly awful pest." After reading The Portable Dorothy Parker, it feels that Parker would have described herself in the same way. What comes across time and again through the collection i ...more

Like · see review

Jul 14, 2015 Dawn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories

I like that I've read this book, that I now know what her writing was like but I can't say that I enjoyed the majority of her writing. Her stories seem to portray a deeply unhappy and bitter woman with some severe trust issues.

I found the stories a little depressing, Parker writes about the follies of relationships but instead of seeing the humour in the stories, all I'm seeing is the sadness that these really portray how some people live their lives. Maybe I missed the satire?? What I read inst ...more

Like · see review

Aug 01, 2015 Jennifer rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2015, rt

I have wanted to read this for quite some time and I am glad I did. I am not a fan but I understand her following and why others would enjoy her writing. Big Blonde made the book worth reading.

Like · see review