The Collected Short Stories of Dorothy Parker

by Dorothy Parker

The Collected Stories of Dorothy Parker

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction

362 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1942

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Dorothy Parker was an American writer, poet and critic best known for her caustic wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary output in such venues as The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Following the breakup of the circle, Parker traveled to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting. Her successes there, including two Academy Award nominations, were curtailed as her involvement in left-wing politics led to a place on the Hollywood blacklist.
Dismissive of her own talents, she deplored her reputation as a "wisecracker." Nevertheless, her literary output and reputation for her sharp wit have endured.

Reviews

[ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Waltz" had me crackup laughing. "Sentiment" had me sobbing, then crackup laughing.

My first Dorothy Parker; definitely not my last! Such a versatile writer who manages to have such a strong identity no matter what she's writing. Her wit is quick to be recognized, it's very characteristic.

Side note: Dorothy Parker taught me how to stop having the horrible habit of leafing through a page picking it ready to turn it when I'm barely halfway through it. She taught me how to wait until I finish the very last sentence before picking the page to turn it. Every single line is important and none of them can be missed. Most importantly, the very last line of every story will require a whole five minutes to recover because it either explain to you the whole story or change it completely. I love that! You never know until you are finished.

[Bookosaurus (A book a day keeps reality away) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd long heard of Dorothy Parker, hailed as one of the best authors of the last century, renowned for her caustic wit and sharp repartees. While reading the first few stories, I had trouble reconciling whatever I've read about Parker with what I was reading. It was sharp, satirical, sure, but nothing extraordinary to deserve the praise that is heaped on her.

And then, 'The Waltz' happened.

It was then that I got to see theDorothy Parker that everyone raves about. I have a feeling these short stories were written during different phases of her life. The first half is just ordinary stuff- nothing to write home about- but the second half is much more enjoyable. It's rich in humor, wit, detail and makes for a much better character study of the frailities of the human mind.

Stories covered in this book:

Arrangement in black and white -- Sexes -- Wonderful old gentleman -- Telephone call -- Here we are -- Lady with a lamp -- Too bad -- Mr. Durant -- Just a little one -- Horsie -- Clothe the naked -- Waltz -- Little Curtis -- Little hours -- Big blonde -- From the diary of a New York lady -- Soldiers of the republic -- Dusk before fireworks -- New York to Detroit -- Glory in the daytime -- Last tea -- Sentiment -- You were perfectly fine -- Custard heart

[Lynette Lark · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a child my mother would always talk about the wit and wisdom of Dorothy Parker. How Parker coined the phrase "men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses," and my mother was nearly blind without her bifocals! So when I spotted this little 1942 anthology of Dorothy Parker's short stories in a thrift store, I snapped it up. And here we are.

This little tome consists of 24 little stories and only one made me cry. She certainly does have a way with words--she is witty, but she's also very angry.

She writes about racism, love, sex, drunkards, hypocrisy, anti-semitism, the very rich and the very poor. And she was adamantly opposed to the victims of Fascist tyranny (which we all should be wary of especially in the USA).

I chuckled a few times as I read this book and I cried once, but I realized early on that she was making powerful statements against a whole lot of things, mostly bad.

As I was reading this, I naturally had to Google her, and I learned that she was Jewish, that she was born in New Jersey, and that she was an alcoholic. And I believe that due to hardships, she became sarcastically witty in order to save her sanity. (The funniest people in the world are often the most abused.)

[Rostyslav Soroka · Rating 2 out of 5]

The preface to this book talks about how Dorothy Parker is a preacher of humbleness and calls out brash boisterous people. That's a fair description—the book dwells on characters who are terrible people. But I felt like the terribleness of these characters was kind of obvious and similar to a caricature. Like the dad who kills animals or the mom who uses her child to flaunt to her friends. Who wouldn't preach about humbleness around these people? Maybe people were more terrible in the 30s? There are some really great details and stories in this book, but overall I did not enjoy it!

[Candyce Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very cool collection of short stories. Parker is the epitome of “show, don’t tell” and quite the expert short story teller. She really seems to get at the very heart of people, showing them for who they are in all of their mundane, everyday glory. She even had me questioning who I am and how other people must see me. These aren’t all feel-good stories, but they all made me think. She’s a genius.

[liz (inej’s version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.50!!! truly adore miss parker’s witticisms and satire however, she did kind of loose me with some stories.

my favourites : the waltz, lady with a lamp new york to detroit

just to add, i’m convinced there is a slight connection between taylor swift and dorothy parker BECAUSE the similarities new york to detroit and the moment i knew and come back be here by blondie herself is too uncanny.

[Kellen O'Grady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection is not for the faint of heart. Her caricatures are so well done they're deadly accurate.

[Scott Johanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its was ok

[Rusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously written in a different time, but Parker's trademark wit and acuity are here, but some unexpected pathos as well.

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read a bunch of parker's stories in '86. the read was time well spent. she has a number of stories of a woman waiting for the phone to ring, i remember that much about them...maybe because she has more than one like that.

...i believe i liked/enjoyed her use of P.O.V. the interior monologues....and this relates to the above about the phones...I believe there are 6 that appealed/i-deed like this, for moi...but the one on the right, a telephone call, the waltz, the little hours, the garter, ethereal madness.

good title, that last, hey?

or dramatic monologue....lady with a lamp, or just a little one....


subjective narration....mrs. hofstadter on josephine street....soldiers of the republic....


then there are some, biograph, anonymous narration, single character pov...
the lovely leave, big blonde, little curtis, horsie, glory in the daytime, song of the shirt, mr. durant.

anonymous narration, dual character pov
the standard of living
the custard heart
clothe the naked

anonymou narration, multiple character pov
too bad
the wonderful old gentleman

anonymous narration---and i had called this no character pov, but that is likely wrong....maybe this should be the omniscient eye? gotta watch me, every step of the way, believe me you.

but, they are...arrangement in black and white, the sexes, here we are, you were perfectly fine, the last tea, dusk before fireworks, new york to detroit...the mantle of the whistler, dialague at 3 in the morning...and cousin larry.

parker kept my interest...tales from a woman...plus, she led some sort of glamorous life, for when she was doing it, the living and writing...story about a woman ignored at the dinner table...been there?
these stories have been around, but has anything changed...perhaps for woman....but for all?

a garter breaks for another woman...she's at a party...and don't you hate it when your garter breaks? do women still wear garters? all the snazzy pics on-line suggest they do...for a moment, anyway....

a story about a woman who is asked to dance...she answers him out loud, as i recall, and in monologue...the man is not heard...that is how the story is...we see him through her eyes...ha! so in this case, she wanted to be heard.

yeah, wimmim...anyway, i don't think it helped me understand them any better, so if you're a guy, if you read this and you find it enlightening, give me a holler and i'll come a-runnin!

[Edna]

1-arrangement in black and white-Walter Williams is black, and the lady with the pink velvet poppies would love to hear him sing and the party is for him. Burton likes colored people but won’t be associated with them. She almost called Catherine Burke the n-word. Either she’s learning to like them or is a racist because of the remark she makes “you give them an inch and they walk all over you”
2-the sexes-girl with a handkerchief examines it and always keeps saying thank you to everything the boy is annoyed. He tells her she’s being snotty. At the end she takes off her pearls but I don’t understand what that means. Is She supposed to be sophisticated?
3-mr. and Mrs. Allie Bain and Mrs. Whittaker wait for their father to die. Paul was in the Navy and was Mrs. Bains son. Allies brother Matt was a drunk. The old gentleman finally dies they talk so much about money and will.
4-A telephone call-she waits for a phone call from him at 5 PM. He called her darling twice. She is begging God for him to call. He doesn’t call so she feels God is against her. She agonizes over a telephone call that never comes
5-here we are-A newly married couple bickering about the wives hat, and the husband liking Louise and thinking she’s a wonderful woman. Senseless bickering.

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

Arrangement in black and white --3
The sexes --3
The wonderful old gentleman --
A telephone call --2
Here we are --4
Lady with a lamp --
Too bad --3
Mr. Durant --
*Just a little one --
*Horsie --
*Clothe the naked --
The waltz --3
Little Curtis --
*Little hours --
Big blonde --2
*From the diary of a New York lady --
Soldiers of the republic --2
*Dusk before fireworks --
New York to Detroit --2
Glory in the daytime --4
The last tea --2
*Sentiment --
You were perfectly fine --2
Custard heart--
***
The banquet of crow --3
But the one on the right
The cradle of civilization
The lovely leave --3
The standard of living --2

[Sophie K · Rating 5 out of 5]

i found this book while visiting a friend in new jersey, specifically camping out in his pool house where there were a lot of cardboard boxes being stored. my friend told me i could take what i wanted. this book was in a box of discarded pulp novels, readers digests, and knickknacks, and it caught my eye. it is, hands down, the BEST collection of short stories i have ever read. i generally hold the philosophy that there are too many books i haven't read, to read anything more than once. this is an exception. i can't wait to read more by this great lady!

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every story I read? I kept putting this down. It took me months to finish, story by painful glorious story.

The words were genius yet the insight was scintillating, cutting and incisemic. (Yes I made that word up. It means tearing apart realizations - e.g. earthquakes - with your teeth.) How, a hundred or so years later, does one cringe to read such compelling tales of one's human kind? In an age that has passed?

Answer: When you can feel them happening. Because they are true. Even when they didn't happen to you.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd heard a lot about her and read many quotes, so it was a joy to read these short stories, published before they even used ISBN numbers. I did skip one that seemed too dreary, but all the others were interesting. Her style is great.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently, Dorothy Parker only knows how to write about neurotic, crazy people. She has great wit and humor throughout her writing but I can't say it's my cup of tea. After learning about who she was and what influenced her writing, I can appreciate her style. But I still didn't love it.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is well done and the stories are good short stories. I just found that this isn't a style of writing I tend to like. Nothing wrong with the stories, just a personal preference.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not going to finish this one in the near future - it's one I have to be in the right mood to fully appreciate; however, based on what I read it's an easy five stars.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely Entertaining. Ms. Parker’s short stories prior to 1945. Her dry wit and unique prose a pleasure to read.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much more than just the expected cuasticisms.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!