Book Review: The Custard Heart collects three stories by Dorothy Parker (1893-1967): "The Custard Heart" (1939), "Big Blonde" (1929), and "You Were Perfectly Fine" (1929). All three examine women of the times, each from a different segment of society. Reminiscent of her contemporary F. Scott Fitzgerald, each of the stories contain a moral, a lesson learned from contemporary mores. In "The Custard Heart" a wealthy and calculatedly "wistful" woman is wrapped up in herself, addicted to the attention that she receives. So much so that she lives in a world of invisible people, as she can't see that anyone else exists or has a life, even her closest friend. A study of someone who lives for herself alone. "Big Blonde" is the inverse of "The Custard Heart," a story of one of the invisible people. A story of depression, alcoholism, and the boxes women get locked into when they're not seen as people. The third story, "You Were Perfectly Fine," is a short, humorous sketch of trendy, shiny young things, but locates the dark lining in the hazy cloud emanating from the wreckage swirling in the undercurrent of the never-ending-party that was the Roaring Twenties. All three stories amply display an intelligence and razor-wit that will make the reader want more of Dorothy Parker. [3½★]
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