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Lamentos da Vida
Dorothy Parker and her club of pals defined an age and this is a rare opportunity to own a Tower first edition of her book. (There was an earlier one by another publisher) Vintage hardcover book lacking its dustjacket. Book is otherwise like new, like new binding, no markings, virtually no wear. Has tanning to insie pages, some whiting to corners of green hardboards. Our Family will immediately and carefully pack this book in high-quality bubble lined, envelopes. We appreciate your business and welcome any questions
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1930
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About the author
Dorothy Parker
329 books2,053 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
June 8, 2013
This was one of those generous gifts that I’ve felt really bad about not reading immediately upon opening. Elizabeth sent this to me a year or two ago, and I knew right away what a lovely present it was because it is one of those beautiful, old hardcovers with worn pages and soft binding, and it was a book by a woman author I had never read but always wanted to read. It definitely fulfilled all its promise.
The early stories in this collection are funnier and maybe more quippy, maybe just lighter, than the later stories, but all of them have something of a sad-clown melancholy to balance out the humor. The earlier stories are like episodes of Sex and the City turned cynical. The later stories are actually kind of sad and disturbing in a smart way.
This is a digression that is ultimately relevant to this book of stories, so bear with me. I was talking about Eudora Welty with a friend yesterday because of my feeling of ambivalence about the way she addresses race. It looks like last week, They (I forget who, but presumably The Powers that Be) released the original version of Welty’s story “Where is the Voice Coming From?”, the story she wrote after the shooting of Medgar Evers, in which she chose to write from the perspective of the shooter. This newly released version uses the actual names and places of the shooting, which were originally edited out so publishing the story wouldn’t interfere with prosecuting the shooter.
I think it is very difficult to write from the perspective of a monster very effectively, without merely providing a platform for the monster. Initially, the story just strikes me as racist in giving voice to the racist ideas of the man who shot Medgar Evers. I understand, though, that there are differing perspectives on that, and that all of the articles about it and interviews with Welty say that she wrote it because of her anger over the shooting.
So, then, I wonder if it is more that I think she was ineffective in vilifying the shooter than I am worried that it shows her perspective on race. While we were talking about the race issue, my friend asked me if I thought Nabokov is a pedophile because of Lolita. I don’t really have an opinion about that because I can’t get past the first sentence, I find it so vile. But, at the same time, Ceridwen wrote this lovely review about her appreciation of the voice of the monster in that book. And, then, I think Caris wrote the voice of a monster so perfectly, and so smartly, in The Egg Said Nothing. Perfectly. And Dostoyevsky nails it, too, in Notes from the Underground.
I don’t know. What do you people think about giving voice to monsters? When a person writes, as I see it, she could write anything she chooses, and so then to choose, of all things in the world, to give voice to a monster is kind of confusing to me. But maybe I have my own monsters that I find more interesting and would write.
All of the characters in Laments for the Living were monsters in one way or another, I think, but they were hilariously written, and I did enjoy them and understand why someone would write about them. Parker is biting enough in her writing of them that I never felt she was endorsing the shallowness or cruelty, but she also seemed to lend value to the humanity in the characters. Like, they are human, too, but please don’t do this. Please, don’t be these people.
The second-to-last story in this collection is almost completely a monologue of this woman who is embarrassingly self-conscious of her own attempt to not be racist. It was very perfect in its cringe-worthiness. She can’t stop talking about people’s race and congratulating herself on her own ability to disregard race. It was pretty funny. I was thinking about the Welty story anyway, before I read Parker’s “Arrangement in Black and White,” so the comparison was ready for me, whether or not it is fair. Parker and Welty were contemporaries, though Parker was a little bit older. And if both were attempting to vilify racism through satirizing its proponents, I just find Parker more successful. I think Parker caught its awkwardness and stupidity, where Welty’s story did more to give voice to racism. Overt racism is shocking, but only to people who don’t support racism. So, nationally publishing the voice of a racist seems only satirical or critical to the extent that people already don’t agree with it. For an audience who agrees with it, it seems less effective as a critique. And racism is not so rare, in my view, that most people don’t already know what it looks like, not to mention that we might all be better off ignorant of what it looks like.
Satire is probably just difficult because it can so often be mistaken for earnestness and have the opposite of its intended effect. And, Parker’s stories can become a little tinny in the obviousness of the satire, so I understand why authors like Welty would want to protect the beauty of their writing for its own sake and thereby risk sounding earnest. Anyone who is sarcastic on a regular basis has probably had the experience of having her sarcasm mistaken for seriousness, and I have been on the giving and receiving end of that mistake. It is clear from the scholarly articles and less-scholarly blog posts on the topic that I am mistaken in how I read “Where is the Voice Coming From?”, but for the life of me I can’t read the satire into it. I can’t read the non-racist purpose in it.
With Parker, the stories are less poetical, but I know what she is trying to say, and I like it.
The early stories in this collection are funnier and maybe more quippy, maybe just lighter, than the later stories, but all of them have something of a sad-clown melancholy to balance out the humor. The earlier stories are like episodes of Sex and the City turned cynical. The later stories are actually kind of sad and disturbing in a smart way.
This is a digression that is ultimately relevant to this book of stories, so bear with me. I was talking about Eudora Welty with a friend yesterday because of my feeling of ambivalence about the way she addresses race. It looks like last week, They (I forget who, but presumably The Powers that Be) released the original version of Welty’s story “Where is the Voice Coming From?”, the story she wrote after the shooting of Medgar Evers, in which she chose to write from the perspective of the shooter. This newly released version uses the actual names and places of the shooting, which were originally edited out so publishing the story wouldn’t interfere with prosecuting the shooter.
I think it is very difficult to write from the perspective of a monster very effectively, without merely providing a platform for the monster. Initially, the story just strikes me as racist in giving voice to the racist ideas of the man who shot Medgar Evers. I understand, though, that there are differing perspectives on that, and that all of the articles about it and interviews with Welty say that she wrote it because of her anger over the shooting.
So, then, I wonder if it is more that I think she was ineffective in vilifying the shooter than I am worried that it shows her perspective on race. While we were talking about the race issue, my friend asked me if I thought Nabokov is a pedophile because of Lolita. I don’t really have an opinion about that because I can’t get past the first sentence, I find it so vile. But, at the same time, Ceridwen wrote this lovely review about her appreciation of the voice of the monster in that book. And, then, I think Caris wrote the voice of a monster so perfectly, and so smartly, in The Egg Said Nothing. Perfectly. And Dostoyevsky nails it, too, in Notes from the Underground.
I don’t know. What do you people think about giving voice to monsters? When a person writes, as I see it, she could write anything she chooses, and so then to choose, of all things in the world, to give voice to a monster is kind of confusing to me. But maybe I have my own monsters that I find more interesting and would write.
All of the characters in Laments for the Living were monsters in one way or another, I think, but they were hilariously written, and I did enjoy them and understand why someone would write about them. Parker is biting enough in her writing of them that I never felt she was endorsing the shallowness or cruelty, but she also seemed to lend value to the humanity in the characters. Like, they are human, too, but please don’t do this. Please, don’t be these people.
The second-to-last story in this collection is almost completely a monologue of this woman who is embarrassingly self-conscious of her own attempt to not be racist. It was very perfect in its cringe-worthiness. She can’t stop talking about people’s race and congratulating herself on her own ability to disregard race. It was pretty funny. I was thinking about the Welty story anyway, before I read Parker’s “Arrangement in Black and White,” so the comparison was ready for me, whether or not it is fair. Parker and Welty were contemporaries, though Parker was a little bit older. And if both were attempting to vilify racism through satirizing its proponents, I just find Parker more successful. I think Parker caught its awkwardness and stupidity, where Welty’s story did more to give voice to racism. Overt racism is shocking, but only to people who don’t support racism. So, nationally publishing the voice of a racist seems only satirical or critical to the extent that people already don’t agree with it. For an audience who agrees with it, it seems less effective as a critique. And racism is not so rare, in my view, that most people don’t already know what it looks like, not to mention that we might all be better off ignorant of what it looks like.
Satire is probably just difficult because it can so often be mistaken for earnestness and have the opposite of its intended effect. And, Parker’s stories can become a little tinny in the obviousness of the satire, so I understand why authors like Welty would want to protect the beauty of their writing for its own sake and thereby risk sounding earnest. Anyone who is sarcastic on a regular basis has probably had the experience of having her sarcasm mistaken for seriousness, and I have been on the giving and receiving end of that mistake. It is clear from the scholarly articles and less-scholarly blog posts on the topic that I am mistaken in how I read “Where is the Voice Coming From?”, but for the life of me I can’t read the satire into it. I can’t read the non-racist purpose in it.
With Parker, the stories are less poetical, but I know what she is trying to say, and I like it.
December 31, 2018
I love Dorothy Parker’s caustic humor, but it’s best taken in small doses. I don’t recommend sitting down and reading this collection straight through. It is good to have around when you’re feeling anti-social though. She really pinpoints what makes people so annoying.
Her writing is full of little gems of observation. She doesn’t just look at people; she looks at furniture and clothes and dogs and cars and streets—with criticism, but with such a clear view it’s hard not to agree with her. It’s just that there is a sadness under her humor that can be depressing if you read too much at one time.
“'I know it’s horrible,’ she said. ‘It’s—well, I do it in defense, I suppose, Hobie. If I didn’t say nasty things, I’d cry. I’m afraid to cry; it would take me so long to stop.’”
Her writing is full of little gems of observation. She doesn’t just look at people; she looks at furniture and clothes and dogs and cars and streets—with criticism, but with such a clear view it’s hard not to agree with her. It’s just that there is a sadness under her humor that can be depressing if you read too much at one time.
“'I know it’s horrible,’ she said. ‘It’s—well, I do it in defense, I suppose, Hobie. If I didn’t say nasty things, I’d cry. I’m afraid to cry; it would take me so long to stop.’”
February 28, 2025
I read this entire collection in Emily Gilmore's voice.
November 11, 2010
Amazing book--full of all the hallmarks of Dorothy Parker's infamous style. Snappy, full of wit and acid and incredibly amusing and true to life relations between men and women. However I think the true treasures here are to be found in her stories dealing with race. I don't know how many of her readers are aware of it, but Mrs. Parker left her estate to the Martin Luther King foundation and was later transferred to the NAACP who finally gave her ashes somewhere to rest (with a lovely plaque that includes among other things her wish for her burial plaque to state "Pardon my Dust".) The stories Clothe the Naked and Little Curtis are so moving and painful and unfortunately still hold a certain amount of truth in this day and age. But they show Mrs. Parker never missed a moment of the truths around her and also her deep compassion for the downtrodden and abused of the world. Her acidic takes on society are still hilarious and truthful and the entire book is a joy to read even in it's darker moments. Highly recommend to anyone with a brain and a heart.
May 18, 2017
These stories are gold to me. DP's wit is eternally fresh and biting. I read most of these stories just last summer in another collection but enjoyed them just as much the second time around. I'm fascinated by these 1920s ladies, from the wealthy divas with their servants and casual cruelties, to the young lovelies jousting to their souls' death over the most unworthy men . My favorite story is "Horsie", a study in classism and sexism, contrasting a homely nurse with the beautiful, wealthy family that employs her. Written in the 1920s and '30s, their brilliance of these stories shines brighter every year.
June 1, 2025
around two months ago I was in downtown Berkeley waiting to get picked up to go to dinner with a friend. my phone was at 2 percent battery, so I had absolutely no idea what to do with my time. picked up this book on a whim in the used bookstore nearby (shoutout sleepy cat books!!) and read it in a Peets coffee while I waited three hours, hoping my friend would somehow know via telepathy where to pick me up, because my phone had died and I didn't have location sharing on. then peets coffee closed and I stood outside in the rain for another hour, where I came to terms with the fact that I may very well have been trapped in downtown Berkeley for eternity. enjoyable read, though!
March 27, 2019
I only knew Dorothy Parker through her one liners and people writing about how good a writer she was. So I thought, why don't I read some things she WROTE? I was not prepared for this. Her writing is outstanding. But biting. Merciless. I didn't know how merciless writing could be. Her unpleasant people are so unpleasant as to be really disturbing. I could only read one of these short stories at a time, and then had to put the book down for a day or two. The story "Big Blonde" has not left me, even though I read this a month ago.
Dorothy Parker is worth the hype. She's amazing.
Dorothy Parker is worth the hype. She's amazing.
January 1, 2020
Covering the 1920s and prohibition eras, Parker tells us everything we may not have wanted to know about ordinary people’s private lives and thoughts. Overall happiness is not part of their lives. Insecurity, fear, alcoholism, depression, fashion, appearances, gender roles and patriarchy, ignorance, and lack of/or too much empathy seem to rule innermost thoughts. Way too many of her characters are shallow and annoying but they also provide interesting views of social changes in the 100 years that have passed.
When Parker died in the mid 60s, she left her estate to MLK and the NAACP! Cool!
When Parker died in the mid 60s, she left her estate to MLK and the NAACP! Cool!
October 16, 2023
I had hoped that I would discover a long list of unread titles if I looked for them, but now I am beginning to fear that I have already read the bulk of Parker's work, which would be a shame. Some authors live forever and publish hundreds of books over a sixty-year career. (P.G. Wodehouse comes to mind.) Parker's bibliography is like the teeniest appetizer. I finished it all in one bite and it left me hungrier than before.
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December 16, 2023I read about half of this book years ago. I put it down because I found the themes repetitive, the characters mostly vacuous and unlikeable, and the writing style just didn’t do it for me. I just picked it up again to give it another go and didn’t even finish the short story I started before I decided life is too short to read something I don’t want to read. Hooray for Dorothy Parker and all her fabulousness, but no thanks on this book.
February 8, 2021
Well written but disturbing
June 17, 2023
5 star cover
January 21, 2025
My favorites were soldiers of the republic, glory in the daytime, little Curtis, and clothe the naked.
April 17, 2025
What is not to enjoy about Dorothy Parker? Her reading of people in the 30s is not so different from the way people are today. This is a great, fun read!
March 25, 2019
This book contains a handful of good stories. The rest were disappointing. Several of the pieces here were not really stories at all, but rather, they were sketches and experiments in creative writing. Almost half of the pieces are written in a similar style- one akin to monologue or steam of consciousness. This writing comes off as a gimmick instead of true innovation. The approach is too self conscious, ham handed and formulaic. Thematically, they cover the same ground too. Specifically, a woman losing her mind over a man. They are redundant. Things get boring quick. This is also true of some of the more traditionally constructed pieces. A majority of these examples are comprised of an argument between a man and a woman. There is not enough variety here to keep things interesting. Based on this collection it seems reasonable to say that Dorthy Parker is a talented, if somewhat limited writer.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2012
I can see how she got her fame because these stories are fantastic. I’m even overcoming my usual aversion to short stories to keep plowing through them.
I love the way Parker turns her writing sideways and tells stories through thoughts, monologues and what isn’t said. She never takes the obvious route. Clearly she’s a master technician who wanted to find more interesting ways to tell stories than just tell them. I love the monologue of the girl waiting for the telephone to ring. Been. There.
The dialogue is a dated but not unpleasant and the subject matter is as fresh as anything written today.
Good reading to figure out how to convey stories in a more interesting and indirect way.
I love the way Parker turns her writing sideways and tells stories through thoughts, monologues and what isn’t said. She never takes the obvious route. Clearly she’s a master technician who wanted to find more interesting ways to tell stories than just tell them. I love the monologue of the girl waiting for the telephone to ring. Been. There.
The dialogue is a dated but not unpleasant and the subject matter is as fresh as anything written today.
Good reading to figure out how to convey stories in a more interesting and indirect way.
June 10, 2011
A treat to read. Compared unfavorably though to my favorite short story writer, Hector Hugh Munro aka Saki! ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saki ) Both shed hilarious light on the foibles and pretensions of the early 20th c upper class, with Parker also satirizing the pre-feminist woman. But I kept hoping for more Saki-like endings, where the underdog comes out on top in a sweetly vindicating twist.
January 28, 2011
Especially if you are interested in the Jazz Age or its 1930s
hangover Dorothy Parker is one of those writers you often hear about
but when all is said, you realize you've never read anything
actually written by her.
Inspired by the flic 'A Vicious Circle' to read something
by Parker I received this collection of her short stories as
a gift. It is a good read of 24 of her tales.
April 10, 2015
You've seen Rear Window, right? Well, Dorothy Parker covers all those other windows.
You know, the windows without all the murder.
And she delivers elegant, moving, incisive glimpses of those little desperate moments that we call life. Or lust. Probably more lust.
Buy this title from Powell's Books.
You know, the windows without all the murder.
And she delivers elegant, moving, incisive glimpses of those little desperate moments that we call life. Or lust. Probably more lust.
Buy this title from Powell's Books.
January 11, 2008
Dorothy Parker! What a smarty pants! She cracks me up!!! If you only read one Parker story I highly recommend Big Blonde...it's has all of Parker hallmarks. I really got a kick out of Clothe the Naked, Horsie, and You Were Perfectly Fine. The other stories all seem to blend together.
February 9, 2011
classic '20s stories, giving you a real sense of the era.
April 23, 2011
good stuff. worth it. high five.
October 25, 2011
I think, perhaps, reading straight through a collection of Dorothy Parker's writing is not the best approach. In smaller doses, I may have rated higher...
December 22, 2012
I count stumbling upon this book as one of the best things that happened this summer. I know that Dorothy Parker will be a life-long friend.
September 6, 2014
Detta var smörja
Read
August 4, 2012What can I say....Dorothy.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews