[.ca] 20th Century Gentlemen Prefer Blondes And But Gentlemen ... (ISBN 0141180692)

Wry, funny and timeless:
If you appreciate wry humor and satire, wonderfully written, this is the book for you. A quick read that never disappoints. Every gentleman should read this by the time he turns 25.

What a star:
Which came first, Damon Runyon or Anita Loos? Whatever, this is a brilliant book that gets funnier as Loos hits her stride. By the time she gets to Dorothy's adventures she's well away. It's not just the language and the gags but the concrete observation - Dorothy isn't just discovered sitting in the doorway of Pearl Lo Vino's tent, she's found sitting there watching Pearl crochet a boudoir cap. Writers, take note!

Utterly entertaining:
This is a great little book (actually, two books in one). I laughed put loud throughout it and hoped that it would never end. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" is rightly considered a classic, its sharp and bitingly witty insight is something one never seems to see in a book today (indeed, humour in a book today seems to be rare - sometimes it seems that all new fiction books are depressing and morbid; and if you feel this way too then you should read Loos' clever and refreshing novels). This is a classuc that you will want to read over and over.

Forget Carol Channing and Marilyn Monroe: go to the source:
It's impossible to hear this title without thinking of the stage musical with Channing or the later film version of it with Monroe. But Loos's novel is one of the funniest books of the twentieth century, and was beloved by everyone from James Joyce to Santayana. It's all told from Lorelei Lee's diary as she conquers New York, London, Paris, and (hardest of all) the Philadelphia Main Line, entirely by dint of her charm and comeliness. Lorelei is no fool, and exploits the desires of the old men who meet her to get all the jewels and orchids she can dream of, but nonetheless she remains very much an innocent--which is the greatest wellspring of the book's appeal. And her cynical friend Dorothy's sidecomments (which Lorelei frequently quotes) are absolutely hilarious.

Classic humor!:
I adored this book! I purchased it because I'd seen both of the movies, but the book is so much wittier! I'd recommend it to anyone with an extremely sophisticated sense of humor, otherwise it would be hard to understand - not for lightweights!