Dorothy Parker - The Irresponsible Reader

Enough Rope

DETAILS:
Publisher: Boni & Liveright
Publication Date: December 1926
Format: eBook
Length: 86
Read Date: December 2-3, 2024

What’s Enough Rope?

It’s Dorothy Parker’s debut collection of poems, I think ninety of them–but I ran out of fingers and toes and had to make a guess.

Some are flat out funny, some are sweet (okay, not really that many), some are acidic, some are witty, some are ascerbic, some are lightly self-mocking–some are self-hating. It’s quite the range. Some are just somber and sober, without any species of humor (I think)–but those are few and far between. All show a degree of wit that too many poems I read don’t show (which is why I don’t read many.)

I should just go onto the next section because I guess I’ve slipped into answering:

So, what did I think about Enough Rope?

I enjoyed it. Some of these were just delightful. Some made me think a little. I know that Parker can tend toward dark thinking, but there were one or two that could give Plath a run for her money.

Some of the poems by her that I knew already, like “Résumé” or “One Perfect Rose” were part of this collection and were just as good as it was when I discovered it in High School. “Verse for a Certain Dog” is going to be a favorite of mine for quite a while.

One that I don’t think I’ve read before is called “Finis.” It struck me as something akin to Auden’s “Funeral Blues,” in lamenting a lost love–until the final couplet which turns the whole thing into a jab at the man.

Overall, you get the sense of someone who is a jaded romantic. She understands love–she’s wary of it, knowing the pain it can bring–but she also knows the highs that come with it, and longs for it. And through the highs, lows, bliss, and agony–has kept her sense of humor and a perspective that all things will pass. After all, you might as well live.

It occurs to me (seconds before I hit “publish”), that this is possibly best exemplified in the last poem in the collection:

The Burned Child
Love has had his way with me.
    This my heart is torn and maimed
Since he took his play with me.
    Cruel well the bow-boy aimed,

Shot, and saw the feathered shaft
    Dripping bright and bitter red.
He that shrugged his wings and laughed—
    Better had he left me dead.

Sweet, why do you plead me, then,
    Who have bled so sore of that?
Could I bear it once again? …
    Drop a hat, dear, drop a hat!

3.5 Stars

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Farewell, Dorothy Parker by Ellen Meister
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The main character of this novel, Violet Epps,a movie critic, begins a review stating:

There’s nothing I like better than a cheesy story done well. Then when it’s over I can cheer for the triumphant protagonist free of embarrassment

I hope it’s not too back-handed of a compliment to say that in many ways Violet described my take on this book.

That said, Ellen Meister was a whole lot more successful telling her story in my eyes, than the director of A Foundling’s Story was in Violet’s estimation. This was “[semi-]cheesy story done well.”

It’s pretty clear right away (if I couldn’t tell from the book jacket’s description or design) that this book isn’t my normal cup of tea — but you stick “Dorothy Parker” in the title of anything, and I’m going to give it a second (and probably a third and fourth) look. I’m not an expert on Parker, can’t even say I’ve read half of her extant material — but I really enjoy her poems, and what stories I’ve read are among the better short stories I’ve bothered with. And anyone who’s flipped through a collection of her best quips has to see the sharper mind behind that sharp tongue. This book was clearly as much a tribute to Parker as it was the story of Violet Epps, so I had to give it a try.

I enjoyed Meister’s version Parker — both in her more somber, reflective moments as well as her more humorous/witty moments. The relationship between Violet and her niece — the heart of the book — is great, and I’d really liked to see more of it. The romance was . . . well, that’s where the cheesy really came into things.

You don’t have to read too much of this book before you know exactly how it’s going to turn out (there’s a strong chance you’d be close after reading the book description alone). But that’s okay, because Meister’s execution and characters are strong enough to carry you along.

I laughed, I cheered (inwardly) at the moments of triumph at the end of the book, I enjoyed my time with Violet, her niece and the ghost of Dorothy Parker. I was also inspired to track down some of the resources Meister recommended about her muse — as well as to re-read some of Parker’s own work. I was entertained enough that even though she doesn’t seem to work in a genre I frequent, I’m inclined to track down more by Meister herself.

Tag: Dorothy Parker

Enough Rope by Dorothy Parker: Songs in a Minor Key

Enough Rope

What’s Enough Rope?

So, what did I think about Enough Rope?

Farewell, Dorothy Parker by Ellen Meister