Gentlemen Prefer Blondes / But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes

Lorelei Lee #1-2

by Ralph Barton (Illustrator), Anita Loos, Regina Barreca (Introduction)

The incomparable adventures of Lorelei Lee, a little girl from Little Rock who takes the world by storm. Anita Loos first published the diaries of the ultimate gold-digging blonde in the flapper days of 1925. Now Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and its brunette sequel are together at last in a two-in-one volume, complete with the original hilarious Ralph Barton illustrations throughout.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Humor, American, Novels, Comedy, 20th Century

243 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1927

Reviews

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

F. Scott Fitzgerald. J.D. Salinger. Hemingway. All you boring old white guys whose various books about boring white guys are often touted as "the great American novel" - sorry.

You lost to a woman writing about women in the nineteen-effing-twenties.

This book (or two books, really) is so ahead of its time and so funny. I can't believe it came out in 1927. I didn't know women were writing like this in 1927! And being published! And critically acclaimed!

It's rad.

Better than the movie, and I didn't even know the movie was based on a book. (Sorry. Embarrassing. Revoke my bookworm card.)

Bottom line: I know probably this isn't underrated in the Literary Canon...but I'm still going to call it underrated so you read it.


------------
pre-review

going to take my life's inspiration from this and start calling myself a "professional lady" (when the profession i mean is gold digging)

review to come / 4 stars

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tbr review

i wonder how i'll feel about this book, as someone who does not care what men prefer or do

[Guille · Rating 4 out of 5]

La segunda parte no va mucho más allá de ser una comedia simpática, algo flojilla, pero en la primera novela, Los caballeros las prefieren rubias (la que ha merecido mi voto), Anita Loos tiene el enorme mérito de haber creado un personaje inolvidable.

Mis comentarios a esa primera parte se pueden leer aquí

[Maria Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/Tengo que reconocer que es una puntuación un poco trampa. Es decir, me reí mucho con el primer libro "Los caballeros las prefieren rubias", pero el segundo "Pero se casan con las morenas" se me hizo muy cuesta arriba.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're familiar with - or a big fan of - the wildly entertaining Marilyn Monroe - Jane Russell film extravaganza of 'GPB', it may or may not surprise you that, as is so often the case with page-to-screen transfers, it sure ain't the book! 

It's... a bit... of the book. What the film retains: the very basic characteristics of the two female protagonists - Lorelei Lee and her best pal Dorothy, a few supporting characters, and the occasional Loos line lifted from the original. That's it. 

Loos had nothing to do with the film (though she reportedly felt that Monroe was inspired casting, which is quite true) and even the film is a watered-down version of the popular 1949 Broadway show. I suppose it's arguable whether or not a more faithful adaptation of the book would have been as successful or just as much fun as the musical versions.

~ but the book very much stands on its own. Even now - 100 years later (the book of the Harper Bazaar serial was published in 1925) - 'GPB' is still packed with punch; it's a comic gem! If you find its tone immediately addictive (and you very well might, if it hits your mood), you will most likely breeze through it - along with its sequel, 'But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes' - in the course of a leisurely afternoon. Both are rather brief and the pages effortlessly fly.

Writing in diary form, Loos' Lorelei reads like a less-bitter if equally blasé Dorothy Parker. And, unlike the film, Loos' book is *all* Lorelei all the time. It's her diary, it's strictly her POV; even Dorothy only figures in intermittent cameo appearances.  

With the added bonus of misspellings, we get Lorelei's unique brand of erudition:

So it seems that his son's name is Louie so Dorothy spoke up and said, "I hear that they number all of you Louies over here in Paris." Because a girl is always hearing some one talk about Louie the sixteenth who seemed to be in the anteek furniture business.

... her singular way with grammar:

... so I told him to come in and it was a gentleman who said he had seen me quite a lot in New York and he had always wanted to have an introduction to me, because we had quite a lot of friends who were common.

... and the overall je ne sais quoi that makes Lorelei an unmatched beacon of wayward femininity:

So when I got through telling Dorothy what I thought up, Dorothy looked at me and looked at me and she really said she thought my brains were a miracle. I mean she said my brains reminded her of a radio because you listen to it for days and days and you get discouradged and just when you are getting ready to smash it, something comes out that is a masterpiece.

'GPB' itself is a masterpiece, written as the satirical last word in Dumb Blonde. When published, it sold out immediately. Among its biggest fans were James Joyce (!), William Faulkner (!) and Edith Wharton (!). And it all started as a prank on Loos' part, a response to her friend H.L. Mencken's flirtation with an aforementioned dumb blonde: "I had no thought of it ever being printed; my only purpose was to make Henry laugh at himself, which it did." So Anita got a good laugh... and a whole big bundle of money to boot. 

'BGMB' (included in this compact volume) should not be discounted as a tossed-off sequel. Published two years after 'GPB', it has Lorelei again writing in diary form (without noting dates) but, with some noticeably new, kind-of maturity, taking the focus off of herself to enlighten us re: her friend Dorothy's woeful backstory. Compared to 'GPB', 'BGMB' is much more action-oriented; Dorothy just seemed to 'outshine' Lorelei when it came to personal (farcical) hardship. 

It's not at all surprising that Loos' achievements were eye-openers in their day. But time has been extremely kind to these literary bonbons; they have lost none of their irresistibly zany appeal.

[Rosemarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the second book much more than the first one. It had a better plot and more action.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos



Do they prefer blondes?

I can’t say that I do, but then I am no gentleman.

The title seems to cast a shadow over the book. It seems to start on the wrong foot, but when you think that the intention is not all that serious, since we’re dealing with a comedy, we can forget about it.

Was it the egg or the hen? The book may have been a success before the movie, but once Marilyn Monroe got to play in the movie of the same name, there’s no question which is better known.



The other issue at stake here is the attitude towards women and of the women. Of course, we are not dealing with dumb blondes, that is such a stupid cliché that it may not be worth hanging around it, except to say that there are stupid blondes, as well as idiot dark men. Any color of hair or skin has better and worse representatives.

Beauty, on the other hand has been studied through various lenses and in the strangest ways:

· I have read in The Economist recently that beauty and modification of facial appearance has been studied in …foxes. For more than a hundred years, foxes have been bred and it was observed that their noses change, become flatter as they get tamed. Some features on the faces of humans seem to represent evolution in perhaps similar ways.

· What we mean and look for when we speak of beauty seems to be established: a certain symmetry, higher forehead, flatter noses (like the aforementioned foxes)

· The impact of beauty has been studied in all places, including…supermarkets. Experts have looked at the way mothers treat their more beautiful and less attractive offspring. The good looking babies are way better treated, than their less lucky counterparts. Mothers attach four times more often the “nice” babies in their strollers and they act “better with the good looking ones”. This is referred to in the same The Economist if you wish to investigate further

I do not understand the fixation on “blondes”. If she is good looking, she can have blue hair, like in La Vie d’Adele (although I was not so keen on the film or the actresses- I have seen one of them doing a much better role, in a Swiss film, I forgot the name, but she plays a wonderful << double>>role- she pretends she is the sister of a young thief, who is actually her son). Speaking of which, if you have blue hair, but you’re nice…email me.

In Romania, the issue of blondes pays tribute to a (still quite) macho culture...we are behind in economic, social, infrastructure terms…but some men still think about women as silly blondes (or brunnetes). This is a proof of how far we still have to go.

Then we have a celebrated blonde- Elena Udrea, a favorite of the unpopular president and the subliminal message of a woman is way too present on the airwaves is that – blonde is not good.

We can admire her stamina and gumption (maybe even her balls) but she lacks substance and has made mistakes, enriched her family and plays a game of appearing simple, cooking cake or whatever, but spending a fortune on designer clothes, fancy houses and cars.

She could be the not very positive equivalent of the blonde in the book: smart (up to a point), savvy, successful, manipulator and with a lot of energy to waste on the political arena.

I vote with the right, if she will come under the umbrella of the new coalition...She has my vote, and I will prefer…blondes.

[Michael Mayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent antidote for too much Hemingway! One of the funniest stories I have ever read. I especially love the part where Lorelei meets Freud (Dr. Froyd) and they discuss the topic of inhibitions and dreams. I think this book captures the American spirit quite nicely. Not a bad movie either by the way!

[Vonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

My expectations for this book were high, evidently unfounded. After all, most classics / books known in their time do not necessarily stand the test of time. However, this being labeled as the Great American Novel is quite an overstatement. Then again, similar to the coming of age story of Catcher in the Rye, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes was completely unremarkable for me. Perhaps during is time, the idea was original (girl distilling it about her selfish, conniving, manipulative ways to marry her way to the top and the ingenious resolution that men like to play around with the pretty blinded, but ultimately settle with the ones with the actual brains), but the actual writing/structure/plot was subpar. Especially this many years later.

To begin with (although I understand that this was done with full intent + give the due credit for eliciting the desired effect), the audacious spelling, almost offensive grammatical errors, and plain randomness of, say, capitalization, hyphens, and sentence structure was beyond my comprehension and even further being my tolerance level. One of the more grating choices Loos made (I suppose in order to illustrate Lorelei's immaturity and/or degree of education) was for her writing to heavily repeat "So then", " I mean", and other such useless phrases. Within the first few pages, I was already cringing at the "I mean", "What I mean", "I mean to say", " What I mean to say". Not knowing by the end of page one (no exaggeration) whether I could handle reading an entire book of this, I scanned the next several pages and saw one of the "I mean" phrases almost every few sentences. I pushed myself to continue reading, forcing my mind to concentrate on other words and ignore this. I somewhat succeeded. At least enough to finish the entire book. Maybe some readers do not mind such contumelious errors, but I am convinced I deserve great commendation for this!

Here is an example of a paragraph that would fit right into her diary. I will admit, at first it was a little fun to write, but the novelty soon wore off and I was left straining myself to create ridiculous errors; at the same time, straining to hold back my aggravation, cringing as I wrote:

"In this instants the Woman had a strange dialekt, very anteek. I mean she sounded riskay when she talked about this Doctor Froyd. I mean I wracked my brain in order to decifer what she meant. But she had a lot of moneys that she would give to me. I mean I could have the diamond tiara if I used the intelligents I seem to have always had. So I lited up my face so that it looked like I found her amuseing. When she smiled back, I knew it was do to me being an intelektual. I mean I used Psychology and understood that she did not know how to use her instincks. I mean I am the reverse. So then later she left with the ade from this man that came in his Rols Royce. It really was a Miracle because she promised to come back to take me to see the diamond tiara tomorrow."

Putting all of this aside, Lorelei, plain and simple, was someone I would absolutely deplore in person. And to be forced to read her diary as opposed to the far easier third-person or omniscient point-of-view, was difficult. Through her words, I would but be surprised if it was actually putting an exaggerated light on the other characters. To me, an unreliable narrator.

Dorothy, Mr. Bartlett, Major Falcon, Sir Francis Beekman, Mr. Montrose, Henry Spoffard, Gloria, Chesterfield. Who is who? All the names blur together, as Lorelei's descriptions and depictions were lackluster and superficial. Partially because that was close to her actual relationship with these people. All are men she used; men she married; men she wanted to marry or almost married until her capriciousness got the better of her, yet again; friends she spoke poorly of; men she imagined loved her, men she was convinced she was equal to, men she called geniuses that she felt saw her in the same way.

The first book is the diary belonging to Lorelei. The second is hers again, but telling her friend Dorothy's story, as dictated to her. Both are superficial, full of themselves, self-serving, and worse yet, superficial friends (at least if the way Lorelei treats her is telling at all, oft painting her in the worst possible light and constantly berating her- both behind her back and to her face.

Needless to say, underwhelming and unimpressive.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lorelei Lee maneja a los hombres como quiere. Hay un caballero que desea que se culturice y ella no dudará en sonsacarle a él y a cualquiera que se le ponga por delante, todo el dinero o joyas posibles para hacerlo. La protagonista nos narrará a través de su diario viajes a Europa, flirteos con caballeros de muy diferente índole, situaciones absurdas (muchas), cameos de "famosos" de la época (Dr. Froyd! 😂)... Y nos presentará la picaresca como medio de vida en los alegres años 20 y en un Estados Unidos en el que, con la Ley Seca, los asesinos fingen hacer contrabando de bebidas alcohólicas para quitarse a la policía de encima.

Quizás no tenga una calidad literaria espectacular (Lorelei realmente necesita culturizarse), y la estructura es algo caótica, pero me lo he pasado genial con la frivolidad y las aventuras de Lorelei y Dorothy, una amiga "poco refinada" cuyas frases me han hecho soltar más de una carcajada con un humor que va del negro al absurdo.

En esta edición se recogen las dos novelas que publicó Anita Loos por entregas en los años 20. He de decir que me ha gustado bastante más la primera parte que la segunda, que creo que incluso cae en errores de continuidad, aunque también tiene momentos divertidísimos. Pero el humor siempre es muy personal, así que no me atrevo a recomendársela a todo el mundo. Yo soy de risa fácil, por ejemplo.

En fin, una lectura ligerita para conocer a dos chicas que, en definitiva, sólo buscan un hueco en la "buena sociedad" y en la que, si rascamos un poquito, encontraremos también una crítica mordaz a la sociedad de entonces y a la literatura "seria". De hecho, recomiendo mucho leer la introducción de la propia autora a una edición de bastantes años después, para poder extraer lo más serio de la aparente alegría de estos dos libros.

[Cissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant, brilliant novel! (And in my opinion far better than "Catcher in the Rye", because Lorelei is an unreliable but likable narrator who does a fine job of navigating expectations to get what she wants in a pretty hostile world, and who is at least as self-centered as Holden but more fun.)

Lorelei Lee has a very distinctive voice. Her blend of "refined" and ignorant is funny at first, but rather touching as one gets into her head. As is her approach to life: while she cites high ideals, she is utterly pragmatic when it comes to actions, to a point where one can only admire the choices made by "a girl like I".

Her BFF, Dorothy- the brunette- is both more seemingly sensible and cynical, but also makes very poor life choices, especially by Lorelei's standards. Dorothy is a welcome snarky voice, though most of the snark sails right over Lorelei's head.

This edition contains "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes", plus a LOT of interesting back-story about the history of the books and their genesis.

It also has illustrations from an early edition, but unfortunately many of them are very muddy in print; I wish they had been cleaned up more.

These were the inspiration for the Marilyn Monroe movie, which was itself the inspiration for the Madonna "Material Girl" video- in which Madonna channels Lorelei for the dance number, and Dorothy for the context. Nicely done!

VERY highly recommended. This ought to be a taught classic.

[Bronwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really fun and funny. Lorelei is a hilarious narrator. I preferred Blondes (Lorelei’s story) to Brunettes (Dorothy’s), but both were enjoyable.

Gotta hit more of these 20s classics. :)

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I saw this on Robert McCrum's list of the 100 best novels in English for The Guardian, I had no idea that Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was a novel, let alone a good one. And while I imagine Edith Wharton's calling it "the Great American Novel" may have been good-naturedly hyperbolic, there's no denying that it's an entertaining read, and probably has as much to say about American society in the jazz age as The Great Gatsby, if not more.

Fans of the Jeeves & Wooster series may see parallels in Anita Loos's light-hearted but vicious satire of upper-class hypocrisy and working-class naïveté. But where Bertie Wooster has Jeeves to get him out of trouble, Lorelei and Dorothy have only their instinctive cunning. Lorelei may not know how to spell, or anything about history, culture, or geography, but she knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. All of the men in the story, from spoiled Pennsylvania socialites to rural deputy sheriffs to even members of the Algonquin Round Table, are reduced to pawns in their story. (A story inspired by Loos noticing that a blonde could even turn an intellectual giant like H.L. Mencken to mush.)

Lorelei's dimbulb narration is hilarious, but Dorothy is my favorite (and, I imagine, a stand-in for Anita Loos.) Her main purpose in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes seems to be as a sarcastic counterpoint to Lorelei's boundless enthusiasm—she's not as mercenary as Lorelei and will always pass up a chance at bilking a rich bore for money when she can have a good time with a sax player or waiter. In Gentlemen Marry Brunettes we get to hear her backstory from an itinerant carny to New York socialite, as told by Lorelei.

Now I'm eager to read one of Loos' autobiographies.

[Sheree | Keeping Up With The Penguins · Rating 5 out of 5]

CONTROVERSIAL OPINION: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is an infinitely better book than The Great Gatsby. They take place in a comparable setting, but Loos’ effort is just so. much. better! I think this one is too easily written off as a funny little story about a silly gold-digger, but scratch the surface and you’ll find a compelling and hilarious account of gender roles, politics, and power in 1920s America. It’s a story about resourcefulness, determination, strategy, and relationships. Compare that to stinkin’ Gatsby, which is pretty much just a cautionary tale about how rich people aren’t as happy as they look – pffft! What a tragedy that Gentlemen Prefer Blondes isn’t the book that teenagers are forced to read in high school; I’m sure it’d teach them a lot more about life, and heck, it’d be a lot more fun for them to read!

My full review of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes can be found on Keeping Up With The Penguins.

[Lihué · Rating 4 out of 5]

bueno bueno he conseguido acabarme un (1) libro!!!!súper divertido o sea me he reído en voz alta tantas veces q risa

[Edu Serrano · Rating 2 out of 5]

No me ha interesado la trama, no me han atraído los personajes y no me ha gustado el estilo de Anita Loos. Tres frases ingeniosas de Dorothy salpicadas por la novela no me han compensado el hastío que he sentido leyéndola.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first saw the Marilyn Monroe movie Gentlemen Prefer Blonds as a youth years ago and have a vague recollection of it being whimsical fun but my general memory of the film is pretty limited. I need to go back and watch it as an adult and see it from fresher eyes.

Reading these books was a great experience. They were generally a quick read, although it took the first couple of chapters for me to get used to the style…which slowed me down as I re-read segments to double check grammar and spelling. Anita Loos does an exquisite job of capturing the singular voice of Lorelei Lee. I absolutely love the narrative style and the oblivious ignorance with which Lorelei approaches the world.

The story itself is not terribly remarkable. It largely plays out as a series of humorous anecdotes as Lorelei and her friend Dorothy travel the world to be properly "educated." Presenting the story from Lorelei's point of view makes her own comments and actions all the more hilarious while also making Dorothy's comments so much fun, especially since Lorelei never really understands the full meaning of her friend's remarks.

I really enjoyed the style and would love to read more by Loos. She started her writing career as a screenwriter and as I looked at her list of novels is fairly short, which is a shame.

Don't expect anything really deep going into these books (unless your idea of depth is the same as Lorelei's, in which case this book may be over your head). These books are a fabulous portrayal of life in the 20s as seen through the eyes of the gold-digging blonde (in the literal and stereotypical sense). It's a great light-hearted satirical look at life and romance.

****
4 out of 5 stars

[JacquiWine · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a marvellous novella this turned out to be. Smart, engaging and uproariously funny – another great summer read for me.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was the debut novel of the American screenwriter and author Anita Loos. (You can read a little more about her career here.) The book was an instant success on its release in 1925 – the individual sections had previously been published in Harper’s Bazaar, so the market was ripe for its appearance as a complete text.

To read my review, please click here:

https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2018...

[Zoe Carney · Rating 3 out of 5]

While very obviously of its time, I enjoyed this. Lorelei is smarter than you might first think, Dorothy is fab, and the two of them are wielded very cleverly to shine a light on the silliness of early 20th Century American society. Loos is a very sharp satirist with a great eye for the ridiculous, and while the style didn't completely draw me in, the characters and theme were entertaining enough to carry me through both short stories. A fun story, and a nice snapshot of a bygone era.

[Rayme]

Funny. An excellent antidote for too much Fitzgerald and Hemingway.

[Dannine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this for an alternate text in my creative writing course and I truly enjoyed this book very much. I chose to start with But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes instead of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The way in which Anita Loos writes requires a bit of adjusting to and also having some history of the era helps the reading run smoother. With that in mind as a writer I can say two things. One is when you write and you like the style stick to your guns especially when your aiming for a certain style and two when you write enjoy what you write but do take into consideration your audience. The one thing that I firmly would not sacrifice is spelling to stress a style or point.
I did learn about some more ideas about characterizing through reading this book. Loos presents two very different characters and develops them very well. When I was reading from the brunette character perspective the blonde character is displayed with all the classic stereotypical behaviors and mannerism. Loos is not always subtle and to me I think it works for her style, but for my own writing I truly think that adding some more mystery and just letting it grow produces something more long and memorable. When reading from the blonde character perspective it is truly a challenge, because the hair color lives in the text. In other words the role of dumb and foolish transcends well into the written part. From this end is where I think writing shouldn’t be a sacrifice to the extent of making your writing fit the character. I think the character and the writing should grow together and if they can’t then one of the two needs to split. Thus there is where I can see the idea of series or series spin off or a two part book.
In the end of things Loos lets friendship prevail despite all and any differences. She makes the differences stand out, but it’s not in a way that bores you. To me that is something I want to use in my writing, the world is already filled with too much drama and even television is saturated with it. I mean could we get a drama test like a cholesterol test and stick it to our TV’s –I think if that was true it be a one big explosive mess. Simply put with Loo’s style of writing I know I will want to include humor to alleviate tensions or let the reader have a break. Now I wouldn’t go as way as using satire which is Loo’s main style, but humor alone can lighten any situation you can place a character in.
Setting is another factor Loo’s uses to her advantage. When she spoke of the dining room, the cirrus rather anything the eyes of our two gal protagonists saw were brought to life. Yes, indeed there is some notion that the words used really can be outdated yet still it places you there. That is something I know I will continue to do as I write. I want my character to not just have eyes, I want my character to have vision. I don’t want to give them petite ears to just have dangling sparkling earrings or long tender fingers to gracefully pose a ring , I want my characters to hear and feel and thus transmit those feelings to paper and then to the reader.
To me this book is classic for women literature and if you want to get more into writing this will help you see errors and ways to enrich your own writing.

[Rhys · Rating 4 out of 5]

(1) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes...

This was vastly better than I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a 1920s version of chic-lit and so it sat unread in a box for about five years. I found it a couple of weeks ago and idly began reading the first page. Turns out it's actually a biting satire on golddiggers and predatory male culture set in the affluent 'flapper' years... The main character, Lorelei Lee, is a survivor; even though she's the original 'dumb blonde' her instinctive grasp of tactical manipulation is impressive and generally allows her to seize the main chance, usually by casting all morality aside. There's a scene with Freud in Vienna that is hilarious. A superb novel and I'm looking forward to the sequel!

(2) But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes...

The sequel to the more famous *Gentlemen Prefer Blondes* this novel tells the story of Dorothy Shaw, the best friend of golddigger Lorelei Lee, and her adventures among low life carnival types, her journey to New York and her involvement with the demi-monde of that city during the years of prohibition. Gangsters, pretentious socialites, feckless playboys... the 1920s is brilliantly evoked in this sharp satire. Much better than I was expecting...

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

In retrospect, I should have read this one before The Dud Avocado and The Artificial Silk Girl, because it really is the original, but as I didn't realize that I was creating a thematic trilogy, it didn't really occur to me.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is brilliant and ridiculous. I loved the tone of the whole thing, even the spelling mistakes. I read the little essay at the beginning of the book as well, once I had finished, and it's easy to forget that the world had never encountered anybody like Lorelei Lee before this book, at least not on the page. Despite her lack of schooling, she's very savvy and intelligent, and she knows how to use what she has to get what she wants. And her friend Dorothy is even better, though I found But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes to be not quite as scintillating. Dorothy's wisecracks got the biggest laughs out of me--like when she says, upon hearing Lorelei wax poetic about the Coty perfume shop in Place Vendôme, that Coty must have arrived, smelled Paris, and said, "Something must be done!"

A quick, fun read with a brain, plus some scathing social commentary.

[Elizabeth Periale · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://xoxoxoe.blogspot.com/2012/06/g...

"Both books are written as entries from Lorelei's diary. Little Rock's most famous fictional debutante has decided to become a writer, and Lorelei never lacks for anything to say about herself and her endless quest for 'education,' or the merits and faults of those around her. Comic misspellings are peppered throughout both books: 'Eyefull Tower,' 'safire,' 'Dr. Froyd,' 'negligay,' etc. Lorelei always has her eye on the prize — and the next prize, and the next prize. She constantly complains about her best pal Dorothy's behavior, but Dorothy seems to do quite well for herself.

'I mean I always encouradge Dorothy to talk quite a lot when we are talking to unrefined people like Lady Francis Beekman, because Dorothy speaks their own languadge to unrefined people better than a refined girl like I.'"

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A window into the 'flapper' days of the 1920s and decadent but strangely innocent lifestyles. Quirky, lively and funny, especially the element of satire/gentle mockery in the diary of the 'flapper'.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

What fun to read these two books, from 1925 and 1928 - how very very different than the play or the movie. What a hoot to read.

[Grier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this five stars because I loved Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. While Dorothy has many of the best lines in GPB, her story, told in But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, fell flat with me.

[Lua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Toda una joya y mucho más profunda y ocurrente que su adaptación. Me encanta el hecho de como se ve todo desde la perspectiva de la protagonista al principio con su forma de escribir tan terrible y la forma tan amena en la que se muestra el personaje.

[Dusmell · Rating 4 out of 5]

eyefull tower

[Abigail Puckett · Rating 5 out of 5]

need to write a marxist analysis of this book asap!

[Hester · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gentleman Prefer Blondes and its sequel But Gentleman Marry Brunettes haven't aged well in their 90 plus years.

Lorelei Lee is dimwitted, shallow and boring. In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes she keeps a journal of her adventures in gold digging. She's a gold digger but really doesn't have the gold digger's ultimate goal in mind of landing the big one, instead she's more concerned with what she can get out of a man on the spot. After a pointless trip to "the central of Europe" to get educated, pfft, she meets Charlie a wealthy man with the reputation of "senhsuring" movies in order to make America more pure. After much indecision and setting aside the fact that she doesn't really like him or his family she marries him anyway. Bad gold digger, very bad gold digger! That's right, Lorelei Lee is a bad gold digger, she left documented proof of her plan and her feelings towards her husband.

In But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes Lorelei documents the life of her bestie Dorothy. This story is slightly more interesting. Dorothy was raised in a traveling carnival with neglectful parents, prefers sketchy low lifes to gentlemen, was preyed upon by a pervy sheriff, has no refinement, lands a spot as a chorus girl in the Ziegfeld Follies marries a saxophone player, has a violent marriage, gets framed for dope possession and finally marries rich after her suitor starts to treat her like dirt.

Both stories suffer from unreliable narration from Lorelei, for someone who wasn't there for a lot of Dorothy's story she sure has the inside track especially the behind the scenes machinations of Dorothy's suitor's mother trying to keep her son away from her.

Edith Wharton called Gentlemen Prefer Blondes the great American novel, sorry Edith, not even close.