Reading 1001 discussion

Review thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

So I couldn't find this book on the list?

The other week I actually found a copy of Boxall's book in a thrift store for $1. This is a total score as you know if you've actually seen this monster because it is really thick with lots of cool pictures in it etc. Anyway, since I've been reading the shorter selections for this group off and on for a few years now I was looking forward to comparing my ideas of this month's choice against the commentaries in 1001. But I went to find GPB in my copy and it's not there.

Possibly there are different editions, I guess. Mine has a pub date of 2006.

And I'm not sure I would put it on the list, actually. I enjoyed it A LOT and Loos does interesting things in the narration's grammar that I basically have only ever seen before in dialogue, which was cool, but, for me, it doesn't quite go deep enough to be on any kind of best list of all time.

John, I think it was a very recent addition to the list, which does seem odd in that it is a delightful but also almost an archeological artifact from a different era.

Gail is correct that it was added at the most recent addition which I think is 2012? I can't seem to find the exact year.

1. How does Lorelei Lee's character develop throughout the novel? What are her primary motivations and how do they influence her actions?

2. In what ways does "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" critique the social norms and gender roles of the 1920s? Provide specific examples from the text.

3. How does Anita Loos use humor and satire in the novel? Discuss the effectiveness of this approach in conveying the story's themes.

4. Analyze the theme of materialism in the novel. How do Lorelei and Dorothy's attitudes towards wealth and social status shape their interactions and relationships?

5. Identify and discuss the use of literary devices such as irony, hyperbole, and caricature in the novel. How do these devices enhance the narrative?

6. Examine the relationship between Lorelei and Dorothy. How does their friendship evolve, and what does it reveal about their characters and the society they navigate?

7. How does the novel reflect the cultural and social dynamics of the Roaring Twenties? In what ways does it serve as a historical document of its time?

8. Discuss the significance of the novel being written in a diary format. How does this perspective influence the reader’s understanding of the characters and events?

9. Explore the theme of gender and power dynamics in the novel. How do Lorelei and other female characters navigate and subvert traditional power structures?

10. How has "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" been adapted in other media (e.g., film, theatre)? Compare the novel to one of its adaptations and discuss any significant changes in themes or characterization. What might account for these differences?

And for extra points (well, not extra challenge points but extra impressive points):

What great Irish author, who was going blind and who only allowed himself a small window of time to use his eyes on outside reading, made Gentlemen Prefer Blondes his go to book?

What great American author hailed Loos' satirical work as "the great American novel" even though she probably was being a bit snide?

1. How does Lorelei Lee's character develop throughout the novel? What are her primary motivations and how do they influence her actions?

Lorelei doesn't develop all that much in the novel, she may become slightly more sympathetic to Dorothy who clearly doesn't have her priorities straight, often opting for good looks and charm in her suitors rather than money. However, the tale does allow us to see more of Lorelei than originally presented and that is a development of sorts. She wants money of her own and a certain independence although she is totally relying on men to provide the funds and the wherewithal, it is her own good looks and cleverness that gets her what she wants.


2. In what ways does "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" critique the social norms and gender roles of the 1920s? Provide specific examples from the text.

Lorelei does not just want to get married and she doesn't really care about things like social rank. Unlike most novels of that era where women are at the mercy of the societal rules, Lorelei is a free spirit and she is able to control men rather than having them control her.

3. How does Anita Loos use humor and satire in the novel? Discuss the effectiveness of this approach in conveying the story's themes.

All the grammar and spelling mistakes and misunderstandings are very clever and funny and allowed me to enjoy the reading quite a bit.

4. Analyze the theme of materialism in the novel. How do Lorelei and Dorothy's attitudes towards wealth and social status shape their interactions and relationships?

They realize that they have to present a certain kind of front in order to get close to men with money, this does not equate to social status however. The tongue in cheek nature of the writing mocks the materialism of the day.

7. How does the novel reflect the cultural and social dynamics of the Roaring Twenties? In what ways does it serve as a historical document of its time?

This era was full of extravagance and waste and was in part a reaction to the horrors of the first World War. One might as well go for broke as nothing was stable and understandable after that war.

10. How has "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" been adapted in other media (e.g., film, theatre)? Compare the novel to one of its adaptations and discuss any significant changes in themes or characterization. What might account for these differences?

The 1953 Howard Hawks movie is a masterpiece that takes Loos' novel and tightens it up a bit so that the plot actually is a bit more linear. He manages to keep the comedy and with the very well known casting of Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, he adds quite a bit of sex appeal.

Gail wrote: "but also almost an archeological artifact from a different era."

I totally agree with your word archeological, Gail. I didn't see the roaring twenties, of course. But like I say in my review the book expresses its legendary flippant materialism as well as any work I've ever encountered.

It's interesting that the 1001 list changes. I didn't know that.

just finished listening to this!

1. How does Lorelei Lee's character develop throughout the novel? What are her primary motivations and how do they influence her actions?

I don't really think she developed as a character. She is on the look out, right from the beginning of the novel, for the man who can support her in the 'life she would like to become accustomed to'. Her motivation is to be supported living well, so she chooses men based on income.

2. In what ways does "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" critique the social norms and gender roles of the 1920s? Provide specific examples from the text.

I think what Gail noted is correct. Although I did not find it to be a particular critique, more a sad indictment of the times. I listened to the book, so don't have examples.

3. How does Anita Loos use humor and satire in the novel? Discuss the effectiveness of this approach in conveying the story's themes.

I thought Dorothy was quite funny. As a supposed satire, I didn't think this novel succeeded.

7. How does the novel reflect the cultural and social dynamics of the Roaring Twenties? In what ways does it serve as a historical document of its time?

The most interesting part for me was Lorelei's 'coming out party' where Loos frankly writes about prohibition and the Judge to 'wanted to be notified when there was a good party going on'!


8. Discuss the significance of the novel being written in a diary format. How does this perspective influence the reader’s understanding of the characters and events?

Well, we are only hearing from Lorelei's perspective but I thought this was particularly effective since her point of view is really all we need to know about the various characters.

1. How does Lorelei Lee's character develop throughout the novel? What are her primary motivations and how do they influence her actions? well she is a social climber and uses her "silliness" to climb that ladder so apparently is a lot smarter than she presents. I guess the read dummies are the men who get taken. The development is not her character so much as the rung of the ladder she settles on.

2. In what ways does "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" critique the social norms and gender roles of the 1920s? Provide specific examples from the text. In this novel, its the female that bests the men. That is the opposite of social norms. She doesn't want to marry and is able to avoid any commitments. She certainly doesn't worry about social rules but she pretends to be so ignorant that she doesn't "know" the social rules.

3. How does Anita Loos use humor and satire in the novel? Discuss the effectiveness of this approach in conveying the story's themes. I think if it hadn't been kept short this novel would have gone from humor to annoyance.

4. Analyze the theme of materialism in the novel. How do Lorelei and Dorothy's attitudes towards wealth and social status shape their interactions and relationships? social climbers, girls just want to have fun and diamonds are a girls best friend.

5. Identify and discuss the use of literary devices such as irony, hyperbole, and caricature in the novel. How do these devices enhance the narrative?

6. Examine the relationship between Lorelei and Dorothy. How does their friendship evolve, and what does it reveal about their characters and the society they navigate? it sometimes felt like Lorelei thought she was better than Dorothy but Dorothy might have been more forthright, blunt and Lorelei more coy and silly but both quite savvy.

7. How does the novel reflect the cultural and social dynamics of the Roaring Twenties? In what ways does it serve as a historical document of its time? it does depict that time period so it that regard it is historical.

8. Discuss the significance of the novel being written in a diary format. How does this perspective influence the reader’s understanding of the characters and events? Diaries allow for the reader to know the persons thoughts. Because thoughts are not always spoken out loud.

9. Explore the theme of gender and power dynamics in the novel. How do Lorelei and other female characters navigate and subvert traditional power structures? this is before women's liberation but these women don't seem to be held back by that fact. They use men for their own means and the men seem to be more than willing to participate.

10. How has "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" been adapted in other media (e.g., film, theatre)? Compare the novel to one of its adaptations and discuss any significant changes in themes or characterization. What might account for these differences?

What great Irish author, who was going blind and who only allowed himself a small window of time to use his eyes on outside reading, made Gentlemen Prefer Blondes his go to book? James Joyce

What great American author hailed Loos' satirical work as "the great American novel" even though she probably was being a bit snide? Edith Wharton.

Gail wrote: "Unlike most novels of that era where women are at the mercy of the societal rules, Lorelei is a free spirit and she is able to control men rather than having them control her..."

I love how the men who think they are controlling are actually being controlled; and how the men who think of themselves as savvy are being duped. She outwits them all by pretending to be witless.


Kristel wrote: "I think if it hadn't been kept short this novel would have gone from humor to annoyance."

Valerie wrote: "As a supposed satire, I didn't think this novel succeeded."

IMHO, the longer the satire is, the more likely it is to fail. Readers' tolerance will vary. This one worked for me.

1. How does Lorelei Lee's character develop throughout the novel? What are her primary motivations and how do they influence her actions?

Lorelei wants to accumulate as much wealth as possible while she is able to charm it out of "gentlemen", against the day when her looks will fail her. The only thing that changes by the end of the book is that she has been a bit of a commitmentphobe until that point, but she does decide in the end to commit to one man. But it's still for money and social position, not for love. In fact she finds him almost unbearably boring. But she does like his mother.

2. In what ways does "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" critique the social norms and gender roles of the 1920s? Provide specific examples from the text.

It implies that appearance was the only thing that matters in a woman, and financial standing was the only thing that matters in a man. Lorelei is dismissive of Dorothy's attraction to handsome men.

3. How does Anita Loos use humor and satire in the novel? Discuss the effectiveness of this approach in conveying the story's themes.

I thought the book was very funny but also rather depressing in the way it showed the men as being so foolish. Lorelei is poorly educated and ignorant but very smart in a streetwise way, and she tells a lot of lies, making promises she has no intention of keeping, just to get presents. She's a con woman, really, but she has a disingenuous charm that won me over for most of the novel but palled towards the end.

4. Analyze the theme of materialism in the novel. How do Lorelei and Dorothy's attitudes towards wealth and social status shape their interactions and relationships?

Lorelei is hyper-focused on wealth, while Dorothy has a tendency to fall for men who are not rich. This has led to Dorothy being dependent on Lorelei on their European trip because her expenses are being paid by Lorelei's gentleman friend.

10. How has "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" been adapted in other media (e.g., film, theatre)? Compare the novel to one of its adaptations and discuss any significant changes in themes or characterization. What might account for these differences?

I wanted to watch the Marilyn Monroe movie after reading the book, and I actually have it on DVD, but I couldn't find my DVD player so that was a bit of a Lorelei moment. Just watching the trailer on YouTube I can see Dorothy has some great lines that are not in the book. Obviously adding songs was something they could do on screen. I think the combination of the Lorelei character in the book and Marilyn Monroe's portrayal in the movie did a lot to create the "dumb blonde" image that haunted women for a couple of generations after.

1. She doesn't so much develop as hone her strategic thinking. She seems to be a ditzy, uneducated naif. but her diaries reveal her to be cunning and manipulative, while still hilariously uneducated despite her dismal efforts to become an intellectual. Her motivation is money, and she ditches each man in turn for another who can offer more remuneration, preferably in jewels.
2. The social norms of the twenties are hilariously satirised: the materialism, the dismissal of women, the hypocrisy, particularly of sexual behaviour and prohibition.
3. It is a very funny novel. As I listened to it I was constantly chortling, and I didn't have the malapropisms and mispellings of the printed word.
4. Lorelei (and I love the name of the mythical siren) is the pragmatic materialist, while the acerbic Dorothy is much more romantic and likely to fall for the handsome but pecunious tennis coach, which Lorelei finds unfathomable.
5. There is irony in Lorelei's misreading of the books she reads. in her dismissal of the Tower of London, in her understaning of the Kunst in Vienna, in her lack of repression which has Freud non-plussed. There is hyperbole in her descriptions of her court case, for example, or of the judge who wants to know about parties such as her "debut" and of her interactions with her future mother-in-law whom she manages to inebriate. Caricatures abound: Mr Eisman, the Button King, the Prince of Wales, Sir Francis Beekman, who is notoriously stingy, but whom the indefatigable Lorelei persuades to not only buy her a tiara but send her a dozen orchids every day and the reforming Henry Spoffard who is a prohibitionist and moral arbiter , who nevertheless enjoys nothing better than his Thursdays viewing pornography.

1. How does Lorelei Lee's character develop throughout the novel? What are her primary motivations and how do they influence her actions?
Lorelei says that she wants to improve herself, (why she’s writing the diary in the first place) and she does! She does not reform, nor is she punished (which is what would happen in the end if this were a melodrama). She ends up married to a dull man, yes, but it’s implied that she will continue to use his money for her own ends (starring in movies, buying diamonds, fooling around with screenwriters), and in the process she’s made her husband and his family quite happy.

2. In what ways does Gentlemen Prefer Blondes critique the social norms and gender roles of the 1920s? Provide specific examples from the text.
See #9 below.

3. How does Anita Loos use humor and satire in the novel? Discuss the effectiveness of this approach in conveying the story's themes.
Lorelei’s attempt at using “refined” language is probably the funniest literary device; most famously, “A girl like I,” which became the title of Loos’s autobiography. Or one of my other favorite lines, “Mr Jennings became shot.”

4. Analyze the theme of materialism in the novel. How do Lorelei and Dorothy's attitudes towards wealth and social status shape their interactions and relationships?
Dorothy does not really care about material acquisitions. As Lorelei notes, she returns from Europe with only a few bangles. She just wants to have fun and hang out with attractive men. Lorelei, on the other hand, wants money and only money. She doesn’t even seem to want to get married, as her entire plan with Spofford is about suing him for breach of promise.

5. Identify and discuss the use of literary devices such as irony, hyperbole, and caricature in the novel. How do these devices enhance the narrative?
Everyone is a caricature – traits minimized, and the few remaining ones exaggerated. Spofford, for example, who only wants to censor movies and ironically ends up watching a bunch of dirty movies in order to censor them.

6. Examine the relationship between Lorelei and Dorothy. How does their friendship evolve, and what does it reveal about their characters and the society they navigate?
They are both clever and work together ingeniously. As noted above, they have different priorities. Dorothy gets a lot of joy watching Lorelei manipulate people and seems to find it fun to help her get out of jams.

7. How does the novel reflect the cultural and social dynamics of the Roaring Twenties? In what ways does it serve as a historical document of its time?
One thing that seems very much of the era was the desperation of the English ladies to sell family heirlooms to Americans. Pre-WWI, they would turn up their noses at the nouveau riche Americans, especially women like Dorothy and Lorelei.

8. Discuss the significance of the novel being written in a diary format. How does this perspective influence the reader’s understanding of the characters and events?
We only know what Lorelei knows, so in some ways the narration is restricted.

9. Explore the theme of gender and power dynamics in the novel. How do Lorelei and other female characters navigate and subvert traditional power structures?
The women are aware of what men except from them and use it to their advantage. Lorelei, for example, knows that men like nothing more than to talk endlessly about their favorite topics and she gives them a willing ear. It’s not just her looks they fall for, I would imagine, it is having a beautiful woman hang on your every word.

10. How has Gentlemen Prefer Blondes been adapted in other media (e.g., film, theatre)? Compare the novel to one of its adaptations and discuss any significant changes in themes or characterization. What might account for these differences?
The 1928 film is famously lost. It was always my dream to discover it in a vault somewhere, but alas… I love the Howard Hawks musical with Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. It’s a great example of how the two characters play off each other and are devoted to each other. The choreography was meant to be simple because neither were professional dancers, but the steps, spins, and arm movements all had to be synchronized and the routines became quite difficult. Hawks made up excuses for them to have lengthy side by side walks because he loved the contrast of their distinctive gaits.

What great Irish author, who was going blind and who only allowed himself a small window of time to use his eyes on outside reading, made Gentlemen Prefer Blondes his go to book?
Was it James Joyce? I read somewhere that he loved the book.

Yes, Jane, it was James Joyce

6. Dorothy is a contrast to the effervescent, beautiful and charming Lorelei. Dorothy is more cynical, more witty, and her bon mots highlight the superficiality of their lifestyle. Lorelei listens to Dorothy, however, and values her judgement, even though she sometimes doesn't understand what Dorothy means. I think Dorothy is much more like Loos, herself, a somewhat grudging admirer of the way Lorelei manipulates men for pecuniary advantage.
7. Lorelei epitomises the flapper: a young, fashionable woman exploiting the freedom of the times, an antidote to the tragedy of the First World War. She is immoral, obesses about luxury goods, and reflects the economic prosperity of the Roaring Twenties. It was written and published in the middle of this era, jazz and cinema were new art forms, and society was hedonistic. frantic, and in America, subject to Prohibition. The hypocrisy of bootlegging, the rapidly changing social norms and the glamour of its setting reflects the culture. Today's reader, aware of the 1929 Wall Street Crash and the end of this era, reads its historical story with irony and sorrow that it all came crashing down so soon after.
8. The diary format allows for an immediacy that a third person narrative does not. Lorelei's voice, full of mispronunciations, misspellings and grammatical errors "She and I" for example, reveals her to be almost illiterate, with a unique and sometimes perspicatious view of the world and an almost total lack of self awareness that has her sailing through some very awkward situations.
9. The patriarchy was strong in the 1920's, but Lorelei and to an extent Dorothy too, subvent that power by the power of seduction.
10. Apart from being wildly successful when first printed in episodes in Harper's Bazaar, and then being a very successful novel, outselling all but one novel in 1926, it was a successful Broadway play, a silent film, a comic strip and two Broadway musicals with Carol Channing and a Marilyn Munro and Jane Russell movie, for which Loos wrote the screenplay. Loos famously said late in life that Loreli was harder to kill off than Rasputin.

Thanks for the questions, Diane, this is one time when a have had almost as much fun answering the questions as in listening to the book.

Pip wrote: "6. Dorothy is a contrast to the effervescent, beautiful and charming Lorelei. Dorothy is more cynical, more witty, and her bon mots highlight the superficiality of their lifestyle. Lorelei listens ..."

Glad you enjoyed them Pip.