The Dorothy Parker Audio Collection

Interesting and clever writer. Do some background reading to understand author. Much to recommend dealer for quality and value and swift and secure delivery. A+++

Big BlondeReview of Emily PostDusk before FireworksReview of RedemptionBut the One on the RightHorsieDiary of a New York LadyThe GameJust a Little OneThe Bolt Behind the BlueValedictory ReviewSuch a Pretty Little PictureLady With a LampThe WaltzCousin LarryA Telephone Call

Ok, I LOVE Dorthy Parker but this CD set is hard to listen to. The chick from sex in the city starts it off and LOST me in 10 minutes. Sounds like she could use some read-out-loud lessons.I guess these stories just don't "read" well out loud.I suggest reading the books yourself.

Unlike the previous reviewer, I really enjoyed this collection. Though I think I might have given it 3.5 instead of 4, if I'd been able.I admit, it's been years since I've read any Dorothy Parker, though I remember loving her dry, insightful wit.Anyway, I had a chance to borrow this collection recently and am glad I did. All four readers were quite different in their delivery, and all did a very nice job. (As for Cynthia Nixon, the "chick from sex in the city" referenced by the previous reviewer, I thought she was terrific in "Just a Little One".)Of the three more current actresses/readers (Woodard, Nixon, Baranski), I was most impressed with Christine Baranski. I think she was excellent in all of the pieces she performed and was the most consistent in capturing the spirit of the material.And the last CD in the collection contains Parker selections read by the venerable Shirley Booth. She was such a treat to listen to!All in all, a very enjoyable collection. It's not for those whose appreciation of language extends only so far as "Twitter" and text messaging. But if you enjoy wry, witty writing from the female perspective, try a little Dorothy Parker.

Sadly, these stories and reviews do not stand the test of time. Dorothy Parker was one of the great wits of America’s Twentieth Century. She was the woman who said, “Brevity is the soul of lingerie" and "I require three things in a man. He must be handsome, ruthless, and stupid." When asked to use the word horticulture in a sentence she said, "You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think." How can you not love her? Here we have a series of short stories about mostly women who do not work, have maids and servants and are not happy. While that may have sparked humor during the depression or into the Truman Administration, it is now dull, uninteresting and, worst of all, not funny. The one bright spot was her review of plays she did not like including George Bernard Shaw’s “Getting Married.” Her disdain for the writing and her behavior at the theaters is wonderful, albeit very short and only a few pages in this otherwise disappointing book. I look forward to reading more of her columns as opposed to her seemingly endless short stories where only one side of a two-person conversation is commonly written. A woman dancing with a person she does not like, a woman unsuccessfully trying to commit suicide in a meaningless marriage, a man who doesn’t like his wife or his daughter considering leaving, and on and on. The use of hard liquor by virtually everyone is a common theme, but one wonders what, if anything, it adds to these stories.

All four readers are excellent, including Nixon. It was a delight to hear Shirley Booth again. Only could have been improved with the addition of Lauren Bacall's recordings.