Read by Lorna Raver

When it comes to expressing the pleasure and pain of being just a touch too smart to be happy, Dorothy Parker is still the champion, after all these years. Along with Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, and the rest of the Algonquin Round Table, she dominated American popular literature in the 1920s and 1930s. These unabridged selections of more than thirty short stories and poems is essential for any Parker fan and an excellent way for new readers to make the acquaintance of one of the twentieth century's most quotable authors, whose memorable lines include: "She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B," "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force," and "Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses." Parker's ability to lay bare the follies, myths, and hypocrisies of her characters in such a wickedly funny-sometimes sad-manner is unmatched, and her attention to language, quirks, and the other little details of life make her stories come vividly to life. Introduction The Lovely Leave Arrangement in Black and White The Sexes The Standard of Living Mr. Durant The Waltz The Wonderful Old Gentlemen Song of the Shirt, 1941 Enough Rope A Telephone Call Here We Are Dusk Before Fireworks You Were Perfectly Fine Mrs. Hoffstadder on Josephine St. Soldiers of the Republic Too Bad The Last Tea Big Blonde Sunset Gun Just a Little One Lady with a Lamp The Little Hours Horsey Glory in the Day Time New York to Detroit Death and Taxes The Custard Heart Diary of a New York Lady, During Days of Horror, Despair, and World Change Cousin Larry Little Curtis Sentiment Clothe the Naked War Song "Mrs. Parker has an eye for people, an ear for language, and a feeling for the little things of life that are so immensely a part of the process of living." "If ever a book cried out for audio, this is it. Dorothy Parker, one of the wittiest women of the twentieth century, decimated the hypocrisies of her time with the razor-sharp, prolific (if not always pithy) selections of verse, short stories, criticism, song lyrics, and screenplays…The collection, graced by Raver's luminous reading, makes for wonderful listening." "Dorothy Parker doesn't just reveal the hypocrisies, vanities, myths, and foibles of her characters, she skewers them-in a style that is merciless, wickedly funny, and often sad." "Raver performs each [selection] brilliantly with a new voice and a fresh perspective."

Mode of access: World Wide Web