Dorothy Parker

I first heard about Dorothy Parker a few years ago through the lens of her newspaper writing. Sharp and combative and full of vaguely subversive themes, I believe was the general description.

It would have made sense to start with her newspaper columns. The column as a literary work has suffered deep decline as the newspaper industry has died. Where once you could find illumination and subversive with, today you find writers trying to position themselves to look smart for the elite class.

Instead, I got a copy of her short stories with some sketches. The comparisons to Ring Lardner and Hemingway make sense.

The first couple of short stories are about the angst and drifting discontent in middle class, suburban American life. By the time I was growing up in the 80s, it was a well-worn topic. It was in literature with novels like Babbitt, but also in music. Years before Green Day gave us American Idiot, there was Rush’s Subdivisions. Probably others that were less memorable.

I’ve been working my way through American Prometheus, the long, thick biography of Robert Oppenheimer. But I’ve also got another Terry Pratchett Discworld book on deck I’d like to read some time this century. So, set aside the biography for short stories, and if I feel the need I can tuck in Discworld.