Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This?

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 818.5209 EAN: 9780140116168 ISBN: 0140116168 Label: Penguin (Non-Classics) Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics) Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 458 Publication Date: 1989-03-03 Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Editorial Reviews: Dorothy Parker was known for her outrageous one-liners, her ruthless theater criticism, her clever verses and bittersweet stories, but there was another side to Dorothy Parker--a private life, set on a course of destruction. She suffered through two divorces, a string of painful affairs, a lifelong problem with alcohol, and several suicide attempts. In this lively, absorbing biography, Marion Meade illuminates both the dark side of Parker and her days of wicked wittiness at the Algonquin Round Table with the likes of Robert Benchley, George Kaufman, and Harold Ross, and in Hollywood with S.J. Perelman, William Faulkner, and Lilian Hellman. At the dazzling center of it all, Meade gives us the flamboyant, self-destructive, and brilliant Dorothy Parker.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: She Knew Everyone Comment: This biography of Dorthy Parker was very good.Not only did I learn about Parker but, I learned about her friends and aquiantances ( F.Scott Fitzgerald, Robert Benchly, Lillian Hellman, Robert Sherwood,George Kaufman, Ernest Hemingway etc.). She was one the founders of the legendary "round table" ; however there's not much clever repartee reported in this book. Members of the round table including Parker were heavy duty drinkers which may have contributed to their relatively early deaths. Dorthy outlived most of them. Dorthy was a prograstinator who missed dealines for magazine articles and books. From the 1930s on, it appeared that the amount of published work was small.Many of the screenplays she worked on in Hollywood never made it to the big screen and the most of the small amount that did were not memoriable. She and her second husband Allan Campbell were paid large sums of money for their Hollywood work. The couple had frequent cocktale parties. Throughout her life, Dorthy had dogs that were never trained. It seemed in the book that she was always acquiring dogs. As she aged, people were always taking care of her ( No where in the book does it mentioned that she ever helped others.). Young writers were attracted to her. This biography of Dorthy Parker was well written. Although the subject was not that likeable, this book about her life was. Customer Rating: Summary: Well Researched and Engrossing Comment: This is a big book, and I took it everywhere with me for about a week until I finished it. I couldn't believe the depth of detail the author manages to pull off; the research must have taken years. Although I knew going in that it didn't have a happy ending, I was still upset when I got to the last chapter. What a fascinating story! Customer Rating: Summary: Book good, subject horrible Comment: I liked the book, well written and I think it covered her life very completely and thorough-----but Dorothy Parker herself, I found to be a disgusting, awful, horrible and miserable person. I can't understand why everyone catered to her throughout her life so much. She was nothing! She didn't even appreciate anyone. She wasn't worth the powder to blow her to hell. Customer Rating: Summary: Excruitiatingly Repetitious Comment: I had heard Dorothy Parker was a creative wit, but I found this bio to be about 200 pages too long, with little evidence of her writing. As Dorothy would say, "What Fresh Hell is This?!" As for Dorothy - didn't see much in the way of her 'talent', but as a person, she was a very negative, mean-spirited, self-absorbed, promiscuous drunk who sponged off anyone she could her entire life. What a pathetic existance. And poor Alan Campbell who was her devoted husband. It's a wonder all her excesses didn't do her in before her 77 years. I have 150 MORE pages to slug through. I will finish it but prefer to read about people who make positive contributions to humanity, not suck dry what they can from others. Customer Rating: Summary: Good bio - a little windy Comment: I am a big fan and was excited to read this book. It was a good read on some days and eye-burningly boring on others. I DO suggest the book but don't feel bad about skipping over parts - you won't miss anything. It could have been 50-80 pages shorter with the same info. More Reviews