A review of three Dorothy Parker Short Stories!

The first Dorothy Parker book I could get my hands on was her collection called Laments for the Living.  I have enjoyed them more than I thought I would. There is a definite style to her stories. They are either all or mostly dialogue, or full of description about the setting. These stories have given me an idea about her perspective on life. Relationships are portrayed negatively and women are weak and foolish.

                The first story I read was called “Arrangement in Black and White”. This story is written in her style of being mostly dialogue.  It’s a nameless woman at a party babbling to her host about wanting to meet this well know black musician named Walter Williams. The woman goes on to describe about how she is not a racist person, unlike her husband and likes black people. The strength of this story comes from that fact that through her dialogue the woman proves that she has all the racist notions about black people as her husband does, she is just polite about it.

                The next story is called “The Sexes.” It is similar to a later story in the collection. It is the conversation between a couple that eventually becomes an argument.  As I said earlier relationship issues are a theme that Parker spends a lot of time discussing. The dialogue in this story gradually builds from a man and a woman having an argument to a full blown fight. The woman accuses her boyfriend of wanting to see another woman. He tries to calm her down to no avail. The woman herself is flighty and silly. The ending is ambiguous. I think it ends with him beating her.  Parker had troubled marriages and relationships, so it would not surprise me it she was beaten too.

                The third story is my favorite. It is called “The Wonderful Old Gentleman.” It is a perfect combination of Parker’s use of imagery and dialogue. It begins with a description of a room.  It made me feel like I was really there.  The room is described as trying to be elegant, but ends up looking like “a home chamber of horror, modified for family use.” The wonderful old gentleman has moved in with a married couple, the Bains and lives as a tenant. It is revealed that he is Mrs. Bains’ father. He has moved in with his daughter, due to his health.  He is suffering from what has to dementia or Alzheimer’s.  The main plot of the story is the conversation that Mr. and Mrs. Bains have with Mrs. Bains’ wealthy sister.  The sister tries to ignore that she has left her father in the care of her poor sister and that she should have helped out more.  Mrs. Whittaker, the sister thinks that her father’s failing state of mind is funny. This story is sad, and it reaches out to me because I am seeing my Grandfather fall apart from dementia and how my mother and aunt are both trying their hardest to make sure he’s cared for.

                Dorothy Parkers stories are short and fun to read, I will be writing more reviews of her book next week. Questions are welcome!