Genius

by Patrick Dennis

Following in the tradition of Auntie Mame , bestselling author Patrick Dennis turns his wicked satirical pen on the insane world of fictional film director Leander Starr. Fleeing the IRS, creditors, and jilted lovers, Starr holes up in a Mexico City apartment—Casa Ximenez—with his faithful valet, Alistair St. Regis. Soon others descend on the villa—Starr’s ex-wife, his estranged socialite daughter, a shady Mexican film producer, a tax collector who has chased Starr around the world, and a dim young widow sitting on a fortune in laxative stock. Starr concocts a plan to distract them an abbreviated cinematic epic covering the history of Mexico titled  Valley of the Vultures , starring them. Will the scheme work?

In addition to Dennis's uproarious novel, this fresh edition includes a long-lost short story of Leander Starr, “’Twas the Night Before Christmas in the Railway Station,” as well as a new afterword by the author’s son.

Genres: Fiction, Humor

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Edward Everett Tanner III spent the last years of his life as a butler, in spite of having been one of the most popular novelists of the 1950s and 1960s. A bisexual, he had a wife and family, but also pursued relationships with men on the side.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 6th book by Patrick Dennis that I've read (over the years). This particular title was 'rediscovered' by Chicago Review Press - who brought it out in a reissue in 2018.

Dennis, of course, wrote romps. The most famous of them is 'Auntie Mame' - which remains quite popular today (the 1958 film with Rosalind Russell has lost none of its edge). First and foremost, romps are light, farcical entertainment - though they usually have a bit of biting satire within and maybe even a bit of a message (along with the witty massage).

Romps are not easy to write (necessarily) but the best of them must seem effortless and should be savored like the fluffiest quiche. Though we're not really at a loss for funny writers, fewer take on and succeed at the heightened level of romp. The best of romps (esp. those which have aged well - which is important) would include such works as Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest', Orton's 'What the Butler Saw', Joe Keenan's trilogy 'Putting on the Ritz / Blue Heaven / My Lucky Star', etc. Such works aren't just funny, they're madcap; they're hysteria tempered by reason.

Of what I've read by Dennis to date, my favorite may still be 'Little Me', that zany memoir 'by' Belle Poitrine - maybe because there's a certain relentlessness in its particular wackiness. Dennis does seem to be even funnier when he's writing mainly from a female POV.

But 'Genius' is certainly a solid and satisfying achievement. It depicts megalomania by running riot with someone who is not Orson Welles but very much a Welles-type... though one can also see more than a little of Erich von Stroheim, perhaps some Luis Buñuel (visionaries of that sort)... but mainly Welles. (One could even easily see Welles playing and even enjoying the role as written in the novel.)

The best audience for 'Genius' may be film lovers (esp. classic film enthusiasts), since the bulk of the novel is taken up with the process of Leander Starr (the titular genius, now on the outs with... everyone) making one of his eccentric 'epics' in Mexico - in an attempt to re-claim some of his genuine former glory.

Along the way, there's no end to the mayhem. Personally, I couldn't stop giggling.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genius is a hilarious social satire, taking on American expatriates in Mexico City, movie making, and even Dennis's own profession through the story of Leander Starr, genius director. As in Auntie Mame, Dennis is the narrator who is unwillingly drawn into the madcap plots of Starr, who is desperately trying to reenter the movie business with a new film, which he draws Dennis into writing for him. The plot hangs together better than some of Dennis's other novels, and the satire is scathing, but the book really rests on the character of Starr: maddening, selfish, unscrupulous, yet utterly engaging and likable. Like Dennis, the reader is drawn into an almost unwilling sympathy and admiration for him and a compelling interest in following the course of his story.

[MaryKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books EVER! It is out of print and hard to find now, but I was able to order it from a dealer on Amazon. I read it again after all these years and still adored it.

[Marisol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genio es un libro llena de humor, y de situaciones tan parecidas a la realidad que asombra.

El personaje principal es Leander Star un director de cine muy famoso, que por azares del destino conoce a Patrick Dennis un soldado que en su vida cotidiana se dedica a la publicidad. Desde el inicio Patrick reconoce que está ante un pillo, y decide olvidarse de él.

Al pasar el tiempo Patrick se casa, deja la publicidad, se dedica a escribir, y se muda a Mexico, a una suerte de casona antigua - vecindad nice, donde existe una variedad de extranjeros como ellos, y hace una aparición el extravagante director Star.

Hay muchas situaciones cómicas, muchos estereotipos, así como cuestiones predecibles, pero todo el conjunto logra crear un libro bien escrito, agradable, sin mayores pretensiones.

Como curiosidad, el escritor se introduce en la historia, siendo él personaje de Patrick, no estoy segura que tanto de realidad y que tanto de ficción hay en el.

[🐴 🍖]

luv. got rec'd a later dennis (paradise) by the rev dr jordan west, which the library didn't have, so here we are. EXQUISITELY mean, yes, but imo the characterization in other reviews as "just a bitchy satire" miss the mark: (a) if this were really only pure cynicism then what's up with leander starr's generosity (which turns out to be just as larger-than-life as his bloviating)? and (b) fictionalized dennis is in some ways just as much of a fraud as the other chars whose pretensions he shreds, peddling short stories he knows are trash for quick bux. in short there's some srs complexity here amid the slapstick about canvas chairs collapsing & bad sunburns! as noted elsewhere there are also bits that are unacceptable today (no love lost b/w me and landlords but calling the landlady a "squaw" is the wrong kind of cruel), but on the whole this was a freakin delight & one i anticipate revisiting the heck outta for comedy writing inspiration. (q for further study: how does a writer so palpably nauseated by name-dropping, social climbing, & other pursuits of the rich end up becoming a butler & by all accounts enjoying it??)

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

A work of Genius

As Dennis' son says in the afterword, it's so nice to have this back in print and available in digital format. As could be expected, parts are somewhat dated (and non-PC) but if you like Auntie Mame, you'll love Genius. Now someone please reissue Joyeux Noel!

[Alvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vintage Dennis... an amusing and scathing dissection of human vanity and foible.

[Sherwood Smith]

My favorite of Dennis's books. Still holds up as a comfort read.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outrageous and delightful book. Highly recommend

[Kirby Rock · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really know how to rate this. This is a satirical society romp from the early 1960s, sort of in the same vein as Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's about horrible (mostly) American snobs behaving badly while vacationing in Mexico. They all band together to help a charismatic, bombastic director make a movie in the desert, where he is also vacationing/hiding from the IRS. Some of the writing is hilarious and savage, and some of it is.... well, racist. Some of the racism is presented satirically as a negative quality in other characters, and some of it is just ingrained in the narrator's point of view and the book's characterization overall. Genius is undoubtedly a product of its time, and I'm not of the opinion that we should get rid of everything that doesn't translate well generations later; but in my opinion, this wasn't some masterpiece that we should all be revisiting. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're just really into bitchy farces or something.

[Guy · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the concept of the over-the-top but lovable aunt and mix of crazy New York characters seen through the eyes of a young man works really well for Dennis' "Auntie Mame", in "Genius," the narrator this time around is a middle aged man and the characters that populate this story aren't nearly as likeable. The lines again are very clearly drawn on who is good and bad, who is witty and who is a dolt, but it feels bitchy this time. I was glad to finish the book and get these nasty people out of my head.

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess this one's little-known and out of print these days.

I only gave this three stars, but that's because the characters and plot revolved around phony social climbers and the film industry. Neither of these two fascinate me, but the writer is urbane and witty, so humor abounds.

For a person well-grounded in architecture and clothing, this book is chockful of references and descriptions. I am not, so I can only recommend it's cleverness.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is as good and funny as the two Auntie Mame books.

[Filippo Bossolino · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5/5 Ironico, divertente e ben scritto. Non "lascia" molto però.

[Russell Sanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read—many times—Patrick Dennis’s Auntie Mame and Around the World with Auntie Mame and never failed to laugh out loud continually. I even re-read his First Lady: My Thirty Days Upstairs in the White House recently and found myself laughing uproariously. So having read a biography of Dennis, I decided to revisit another of his acclaimed novels, Genius. As told by Patrick Dennis (the device he uses in many of his novels,) this is the story of a celebrated filmmaker and his attempts at a comeback by making a movie on a shoestring in Mexico City. Bear in mind that Patrick Dennis is a pseudonym, and the character of Patrick Dennis is not the writer behind the mask but simply that, a character.) In this book, the author Dennis peoples his story with an array of outlandish characters, the sanest of which are the characters Patrick Dennis and his wife. They are witness to Leander Star, film genius, who doesn’t have a clue about anything but how to make a great movie. He is irritating to a fault as he cons people out of money, recruits all his acquaintances to not only finance his film but appear in it, and, most importantly, tries to become a father to a grown daughter he has just met. Surrounding him are a group of totally clueless wanna-be socialites, one very savvy cinematographer, a self-absorbed former star, and a larcenous producer. Dennis’s story is a sharp satire that is well-developed and is amusing. What it lacked, for me, was the laughs. I wanted those belly-laughs, but all I got were two or three chuckles. That was indeed a disappointment. Maybe in 1962 when I first read the book, I was a different person who found it funnier. Or maybe it has languished on my shelf all these years until I’d forgotten it was not a “laugh-out-loud” book. I’ve found that in trying to retell a story like this to someone else, I find the humor more readily. Are you willing to sit a spell while I relate the plot of Genius? No?—I didn’t think so.

[Neil Funsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this is one of those books on which I projected a lot of promise. That promise supplied the drive to get through the first half and then the investment of time pushed me to finish. Not a bad book, it made me chuckle a few times, but not one I would wholeheartedly recommend either. The author's tone is too snarky for my taste. He revels in lengthy descriptions of how seedy, pretentious and vulgar people and places are, all the while name dropping 1960s references to show how clever, hip and sophisticated his narrator is. This is especially awkward since the narrator is apparently the author himself.
In the end it's another example of how hard it is to write successful comic novel that can transcend the spirit and mood of its day.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade or The Joyous Season . The language isn't as rich nor the characters as interesting. This book is Dennis exercising the formula till it goes flat, unfortunately.

[Kc · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has to be read as a period piece, with the two white males at the center of the story completely oblivious of their own bigotry. This makes the narrator unreliable, in that he doesn't see or acknowledge his own prejudices, while he's painting broad caricatures of the non-white, non-straight characters. With that in mind, I enjoyed much of the broad comedy. The name-dropping of celebrities and luxury products which readers would have understood in 1961 kind of lost me. But overall an interesting and amusing story.

[Becky Marietta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything I love about books written in the late 1950s/early 60s are embodied in Patrick Dennis's books: elegance, hilarity, a refusal to take oneself seriously, the delicate handling of naughty behaviors--these types of novels are romps, plain and simple. I loved the character of Starr, loved his rascally ways, loved his generous heart, and I grinned all the way through the story. What more do I need?

[Daniel Krolik · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable, intelligent, salacious romp - the perfect thing to read while the world falls apart. There is great affection mixed in with the satire, and you'll fall in love with Leander Starr against your best judgment. This edition also included a brief heartbreaking afterward by the son of Patrick Dennis.

[Martin Denton · Rating 3 out of 5]

In terms of plot and character development, I believe this may be the best of Patrick Dennis's books. Set in the early 1960s, It tells the story of a mercurial, always-broke, brilliant film director named Leander Starr (modeled, perhaps, on Orson Welles?) who is trying to make a movie in Mexico. At least a couple of ex-wives are on hand to alternately assist and assail him in this task, as are a wealthy gauche American widow and a shady Mexican producer. Patrick Dennis narrates and appears as the other major character, who is supposed to help Starr write the screenplay of this epic.
The plot is pretty terrific and the writing is very witty, very funny, very arch. The characters are over-the-top but in general feel plausible. Dennis (the writer) feels a kind of affection for Starr despite his "sacred monster" persona, and this gives the book a warmth that sometimes for me feels absent from other Dennis books like Auntie Mame.
I guess there are elements of camp here too, but not so much as in some of the other Dennis books. There is an embarrassingly stereotyped (a la Edward Everett Horton) gay valet named Alistair St. Regis, which drags things down a bit.
But the reason I ended up giving this 3 stars instead of 4 or 5 is that, coming back to just a few years ago, I found it impossible to get past its casual racism/elitism. Dennis nails all of the WASPy snobs as we expect him to, but he's even harder on the clueless middle-class New Jersey accountant Irving Guber (whose speech pattern is pretty relentlessly ridiculed for no good reason). Worst is the treatment of the Mexican characters, who are all depicted as awful people: grasping, greedy, uneducated, coarse; subjects of derision, without mitigation. 60 years ago this probably escaped people's notice, which is sad; today, it almost renders the book unreadable (which is also sad).

[Kyle Fitzpatrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Mildly entertaining, terribly, of-a-time casual racism.

[Pam Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do we each have a friend who is a lovable con, who we continue to support and help through troubles they have created themselves?

[Greta C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patrick Dennis colpisce ancora, dopo Zia Mame ecco un nuovo personaggio strampalato e pieno di risorse: Leander Starr.

È un libro leggero, divertente, ma mai banale o stupido!

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too funny!

I love this book almost as well as Auntie Mame. The setting in Mexico is now like a lost world, and the absurdity of the characters is all too true.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging read set in an ex patriot community in early 60s Mexico. The clearly drawn characters and lurching plot are a hoot. The enjoyment is tempered by dated laguage and cultural views.

[Kat]

It’s a satire it’s a romp it’s written in the 60s I know all of this and I really don’t feel the need to finish it

[Tisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un roman très bien écrit.
Des personnages attachants...mais une histoire qui traîne sur beauxoup de pages pour pas grand chose

[V. Briceland · Rating 5 out of 5]

To keep it short and sweet, Genius lives up to its title.

This most engaging and carefully-plotted of Patrick Dennis' social satires is at once both a vicious lampooning of—and a comic valentine to—the entertainment industry that made Dennis a mid-century literary sensation. The cast of characters here is more outrageous than perhaps any of his other books, yet at the same time eminently sympathetic in all their frailties (even the con man gets a Get Out Of Jail Free card at the novel's end). And in the character of Leander Starr, the narcissist whose delusions of solvency drive forward the plot, Dennis managed to prove his stuff by concocting a egomaniac who is undeniably dreadful in every respect . . . and yet commands a reader's concern.

Dennis's best satires, vicious though they can be, have a juicy humanist core; none of them is juicier than Genius.

[Massimo Monteverdi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Difficile dire chi sia peggio: se l'attempato regista caduto in disgrazia, scroccone e braccato dal fisco oppure le torme di ex star, quasi star, mai state star che si lasciano bellamente irretire, sganciando pure le svanziche necessarie a finanziare l'ennesimo flop. E, per favore, si taccia, su qualunque riferimento ad Orson Welles che con questa commedia loffia dal piglio satirico nulla c'entra.