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Dawn Ginsbergh's Revenge
Before he became one of America’s most celebrated humorists, S.J. Perelman unleashed his razor-sharp wit in Dawn Ginsbergh’s Revenge, a dazzling debut filled with linguistic acrobatics, absurdist storytelling, and sheer comic genius.
Overflowing with rapid-fire puns, genre-bending satire, and wordplay that bends the English language to his will, Perelman’s first collection of sketches captures the youthful energy and anarchic spirit that would later influence the Marx Brothers. Whether lampooning pulp fiction, skewering popular culture, or crafting surreal scenarios where no paragraph ends where you expect, this book is a wild ride through the mind of a master humorist in the making.
For fans of clever comedy, literary playfulness, and vintage satire, Dawn Ginsbergh’s Revenge is a rare and delightful glimpse into the early brilliance of a writer who redefined American humor.
Overflowing with rapid-fire puns, genre-bending satire, and wordplay that bends the English language to his will, Perelman’s first collection of sketches captures the youthful energy and anarchic spirit that would later influence the Marx Brothers. Whether lampooning pulp fiction, skewering popular culture, or crafting surreal scenarios where no paragraph ends where you expect, this book is a wild ride through the mind of a master humorist in the making.
For fans of clever comedy, literary playfulness, and vintage satire, Dawn Ginsbergh’s Revenge is a rare and delightful glimpse into the early brilliance of a writer who redefined American humor.
161 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 26, 2025
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About the author
S.J. Perelman
104 books98 followersSidney Joseph Perelman, almost always known as S. J. Perelman, was a Jewish-American humorist, author, and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for The New Yorker. He also wrote for several other magazines, as well as books, scripts, and screenplays.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 19, 2024
S.J. Perelman's first book has been described as "superior college humor," but its best moments conjure the Marx Brothers. There are lots of groaner puns you can imagine coming out of Chico's mouth, and the superior wordplay--the way Perelman exploits the English language to convert nouns into verbs and vice versa--was surely what caught Groucho's eye and led him to invite Perelman to write Marx Brothers films.
Another of Perelman's skills derives from his wide, prodigious reading, especially of mass market trash. He'll splice several genres together in one short piece, as if the entire world of books was a radio with rapidly changeable channels. You never know where a paragraph will end up.
The youthful anarchic energy that holds the book together is also a welcome change from many of his later and more easily available books, which minimize wordplay and show off Perelman's vocabulary in longer and more sedate pieces. I'll gladly take Dawn Ginsbergh's Revenge over any of Perelman's post-1957 books.
Another of Perelman's skills derives from his wide, prodigious reading, especially of mass market trash. He'll splice several genres together in one short piece, as if the entire world of books was a radio with rapidly changeable channels. You never know where a paragraph will end up.
The youthful anarchic energy that holds the book together is also a welcome change from many of his later and more easily available books, which minimize wordplay and show off Perelman's vocabulary in longer and more sedate pieces. I'll gladly take Dawn Ginsbergh's Revenge over any of Perelman's post-1957 books.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews