French Girls Are Vicious and Other Stories

by James T. Farrell

Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 1956

About the author

James Thomas Farrell was an American novelist. One of his most famous works was the Studs Lonigan trilogy, which was made into a film in 1960 and into a television miniseries in 1979. The trilogy was voted number 29 on the Modern Library's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.

Reviews

[Chris Linehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book by its pulpy cover. Ironic. It separated itself from the rest of the pages as I was reading the penultimate story in the collection, Ruth & Bertram. Maybe I grew into the book.

The titular story, French Girls Are Vicious, is easily the worst. Ruth and Bertram wasn’t much better. But there were spots even in these where the writing became special.

I hit my stride with the book in the middle. Kilroy Was Here, I Want To Meet A French Girl, and They Ain’t the Men They Used To Be were the best three in the collection, and all came in a row.