King, Florence

Average customer rating:

Yes, she failed
Divine
Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady is an awesome, unforgettable book expecially for those of us who are southern transplants.
Confessions is eerily true!
A Lesson in True Individuality

Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady
Florence King
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Southern Ladies & Gentlemen
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We're Just Like You, Only Prettier: Confessions of a Tarnished Southern Belle

ASIN: 0312050631

Book Description

Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady is Florence King's classic memoir of her upbringing in an eccentric Southern family, told with all the uproarious wit and gusto that has made her one of the most admired writers in the country. Florence may have been a disappointment to her Granny, whose dream of rearing a Perfect Southern Lady would never be quite fulfilled. But after all, as Florence reminds us, "no matter which sex I went to bed with, I never smoked on the street."

Customer Reviews:

Yes, she failed.......2007-05-22

I was born and bred in Virginia. I didn't like this book. I identified with only about 25 percent of it. For example, all of the women in my family are good housekeepers. Also, for the prospective buyer, there is foul language in it and a pornographic description of a lesbian affair.

It is interesting that most of the reviews that rave over this book are from northerners.

Divine.......2007-03-28

A friend shared this book with me. King's wit is unsurpassed in this day and age. Having found myself being an "honorary southerner" - relocated from the midwest to the deep south - her question throughout the book ("just what IS a lady?") could only have been explored with such humor and insight as this writer. I found myself laughing openly numerous times - not in a Bridget-Jones-Diary-Outrageous way, but in the One-Couldn't-MAKE-THIS-STUFF-Up kind of way.

Having born witness to many similar smelling-salt-scenarios King describes, I found myself fully entwined in this book. Poignant, observant, honest, intelligent, this is one writer you need to have on your bookshelf.

Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady is an awesome, unforgettable book expecially for those of us who are southern transplants........2006-05-28

King's book features a quirky mish mash of mismatched family members who, at first glance, seem not to belong together at all. This book examines the various relationships of those characters while simultaneously being a coming of age story regarding young Florence King as she ages throughout this books and faces the many trials and tribulations of her various ages. I've read this book several times and it never fails to get a laugh out of me as Florence moves through her childhood and young adulthood with her brash, tomboy mother who smokes and screams at baseball games on the radio, her father a proper British bartender who works nights and her granny who defines all Southern women as having either problems "down below" or else "in the head." This book will have you holding your side in stitches in places as you laugh yourself silly. A truly great reaad.

Confessions is eerily true!.......2006-01-25

I am truly a southerner, and Ms. King's irreverant approach to the traditions and ways of the south in the mid-twentieth century are so on target that it will startle the reader who is not from the south, and will sound all to familiar to the southern reader.

I found her covert feminism during this time in her life very interesting and educational. It almost seemed like the fact that she was a feminist during this time in her life was unknown to even herself.

Her honest talk about her sexual life I found startling.

The way she challenged the cultural norms of that time is educational for anyone who is living under a cloud of opression, real or just real to you.

it's a great read!

A Lesson in True Individuality.......2005-10-01

Every once in awhile I have to reread Florence King, beginning with this book. For all the talk about individuality, different drummers and 'being yourself' that we hear endlessly - I need her to remind me what real individuality looks like. Her books make me laugh and cry as hard the fifth time around as I did the first time.

Few characters in either fiction or non-fiction have become as real and as loved to me(with all their foibles) as Granny, Momma, Herb, Jensy and even Tulaplee the quintessential southern belle.

Deja Reviews: Florence King All Over Again: Selections from National Review and The American Spectator

Average customer rating:

Thank you, Miss King!
The American Writer Speaks Again
Timeless, priceless, immortal

Deja Reviews: Florence King All Over Again: Selections from National Review and The American Spectator
Florence King
Manufacturer: Intercollegiate Studies Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1933859164

Book Description

Great writing is timeless, and so it is with Deja Reviews. Fifteen years later, five years, no matter how "old" her review, no matter how dated the topic of an essay, readers of this hearty collection will find that Miss Florence King's sharp, crafted prose still dazzles, sizzles, and edures, which is why she finds herself in the exclusive company of great American writers and humorists, such as Dorothy Parker, H. L. Mencken, and Westbrook Pegler, renowned for not suffering fools gladly.

Deja Reviews is a compilation of the book reviews and essays Miss King wrote between 1991 and 2002 for National Review and The American Spectator. It is a joy—a duty! a service!—to republish these treasured pieces...

Customer Reviews:

Thank you, Miss King!.......2007-01-04

I've long described Florence King as my favorite living writer (my favorite writer, period, is Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, who -- probably not coincidentally -- also wrote for "National Review" for many years). Yet I have avoided reviewing her books here, not only for fear of not doing them justice, but also because so much of how I try to review books has come from reading Florence King's own reviews. At what point is the pupil ready to grade the master?

Reviews are an art at which Miss King excels, which is why I was so happy to discover an advertisement for "Deja Reviews" a few months ago. This volume is a wonderful companion to "STET, Damnit!," the collection of her "Misanthrope's Corner" columns NR published a couple of years ago. "Deja Reviews" assembles about five-dozen pieces from NR and "The American Spectator." Most of them are reviews, but there are also a number of non-review essays including some NR pieces that weren't in the "Misanthrope's Corner."

Miss King is sharp of eye, wit, and pen. She famously has no patience with idiocy, and best of all possesses a wonderful facility with the language. I was about to call it a "gift," but I imagine she might object, rightly, to that word: she has worked hard over many years to hone her skills. It's not a "gift," but the product of time, energy, and mental commitment. I remember her writing once in the "Misanthrope's Corner" that she turned down invitations to go on television to discuss one or another of her columns. "If I had anything more to say, I'd have put it in the piece." I so admire Miss King not only for what she writes, but also for the effort she puts into her writing.

Her effort and skill make for a great reading experience. You don't have to be familiar with the books she's reviewing to enjoy what she's written about them. These essays are up to her usual high standards for style, humor, and dead-eye insight. As with her earlier collection, there's no index in this book, but that just means I'll once again be filling the flyleaves with my own notations. I imagine I'll learn a lot more about the art of book reviewing, and have a wonderful, entertaining time doing it.

The American Writer Speaks Again.......2006-12-30

I discovered Florence King while taking a history class at her undergrad Alma Mater - American University in Washington D.C. - where one of her books, Southern Ladies and Gentleman was used as a primer of sorts for class covering the South since Reconstruction. I became a real fan of her writing and writing style, which is possibly the best in American publishing not only of our time, but of all time.

While her only fiction book was a let down, King excels as an essayist, critic and commentator of American life, politics and social comment. Her writing style is something that every person who takes pen to paper believes (mistakenly) that they are using - its concise wording gets to the point and almost jabs you in the eye with its simplicity and ability to convey her thoughts while changing your mind. Think of King as the ultimate guest at your dinner party of dreams, polite, but ready to snip any loose threads of conversation off lest they dangle in the air and cloud her view.

While I am loath to bring this name up, I will say that I believe Ann Coulter probably thinks that she is a writer on par with Ms. King. She is not. I do bring her name up for one reason: Coulter represents the opposite end of the spectrum on which King "write-fully" (bad pun intended) sits, making King the Grand Dame of true Conservative commentary and writing.

In reading King, park your political beliefs at the door and luxuriate in her keen eye for word usage, grammar and thought. If you are so foolish as to approach her writing with any preconceived notions as to your own beliefs, she will skewer you just as the dim wit that you you know you are not. King is not the type of person to suffer fools wisely.

If our national culture were really based upon the high lofty ideals that we think that it is, King would be a regular on Sunday morning political shows, putting their hosts in their place. But alas, America and Americans are a vapid lot, and thus we get what we deserve: Ann Coulter distracting us from her unfounded and outrageous opinions by wearing a little black dress like a hooker on her way home from a Saturday night job.

But we have King in print. While she doesn't enjoy the book sales that Coulter does, Kings works will bear the test of time and one day she will receive the type of honors due her as a real American treasure that she is.

Timeless, priceless, immortal.......2006-11-13

These are reviews you turn to over and over again, always with pleasure, always with astonishment. With forever the question: Just how did she turn that phrase that way and capture both the essence of the book and its aims and failures?"

In a better world, Stephen King would be forgotten and Ph.D.'s in literature would be written on Florence King's oeuvre, for her erudition is astonishing, and her work cries out for annotated editions. These collected reviews are no exception, for she tackles everything from history to feminism to biography (her review of Strom Thurmond's life is one of the finest sustained passages of prose in English belles letters). All extremely well written, all as funny as hell.

One peaks at her soul for a reincarnation of Rabelais and Voltaire, for she is as burlesque as the former, and as poignant as the latter. To be reviewed by Florence King is to cower in fear of a withering aside that will haunt you to the grave. I am sure those who have suffered here have even the typeface of more than a few of these sentences burned into their memory.

In summary, this is a work of timeless scholarship and an exemplar of American prose that should stand as a ready textbook for the art of the review. A joy, a revelation, a hearty laugh, a stimulated intellect, a new fact, a valued friend, a companion voice, a hope for the future, and a pleasure of spirit are all available to those who read Florence King. Get it today.

Average customer rating:

The humor holds up well
The Quintessential Guide
Almost Five, But...
Florence King is the best!
Southern Perspective

Southern Ladies & Gentlemen
Florence King
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady
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Suddenly Southern: A Yankee's Guide to Living in Dixie

ASIN: 0312099150

Book Description

Looking for guidance in understanding the ways and means of Southern culture? Look no further. Florence King's celebrated field guide to the land below the Mason-Dixon Line is now blissfully back in print, just in time for the Clinton era. The Failed Souther Lady's classic primer on Dixie manners captures such storied types as the Southern Woman (frigid, passionate, sweet, bitchy, and scatterbrained--all at the same time), the Self-Rejuvenating Virgin, and the Good Ole Boy in all his coats and stripes. (The Clinton questions-is he a G.O.B. or isn't he?--Miss king covers in her hilarious new Afterword.) No one has ever made more sharp, scathing, affectionate, real sense out of the land of the endless Civil War than Florence King in these razor-edged pages.

Customer Reviews:

The humor holds up well.......2007-02-19

Even after 30 odd years (yes, I really did read this back in the 1970s) this book remains very funny. It's also 'spot on' for the morals and manners of its time and place, but as a work of sociology or anthropology, some of its declarations and observations are more historical than immediate. I don't mean all of that deliciously eccentric Southernicity has vanished, but thanks to cable/satellite tv and the Internet, the "South" has become substantially more culturally homogeneous with the rest of America. And those quirks that remain have almost become national treasures. (For example, even in Ohio restaurants I'm now asked whether I want sweet tea or unsweetened. Ten years ago, there was no choice above the Mason-Dixon line: Iced tea came unsweetened and you had your choice of white, pink, or blue packaged additives.)This book captures a South not all that dear to sharecroppers or blue-collar TVA workers, but one close to the hearts of debutantes and daughters of the Confederacy. It's often hilarious reading, but don't expect this to be a complete and accurate social roadmap to the south of 2007.

The Quintessential Guide.......2004-08-27

Florence King defines the southern lady and gentleman, in each of their various incarnations, to a "tee" in this riotous book. The perfect gift for any yankee who's been transplanted and can't seem to figure out his neighbors. And a journey of self discovery for any southerner who appreciates a good laugh--and a little irony. Funny how little we have changed in the thirty years since it was first published.

Almost Five, But..........2004-03-16

It's interesting to go back and read some of Florence King's earlier works. This book is clearly from the beginning of her writing career: Her writing is not as sharp as it was in her column ("The Misanthrope's Corner"), and she occasionally tends to delve into long spells of almost too much information.

That said, "Southern Ladies and Gentlemen" was one of the funniest books I've ever read. As a Northerner (and infatuated with the South), this book is an insightful - and hilarious - glimpse into every-day Southern culture. After a couple trips to the South, and then reading this book, I can see where her descriptions come from - and how frighteningly (and laughably) accurate they are.

While this book is occasionally punctuated with the sexual remark (or "saucy outburst"), the point is still very much in the text: The South has a very regimented set of codes for its citizens to follow. Women, all at once, have to be scatterbrained and pert, "saucy" and chaste...This balancing act, of course, is written about numerous times throughout the book.

This is an introduction to the South, letting the reader get a sneak-peek behind the scenes, so to speak, of the social, sexual, and political culture. As is King's way, it is full of sarcasm, wit, and hilarity: She does an excellent job of entertaining the reader.

Florence King is the best!.......2004-01-16

I was first given this book when I had just moved to NYC from Georgia. My first time leaving the South. My Mississippi-born singing coach loaned me this book, since I was feeling homesick. I laughed out loud so much while reading this on the New York subway that people backed away from me! I managed to scare New Yorkers!! (even if they don't understand that Southern freeze look) It is still hystercially funny after a dozen years of reading it.Buy every one of Florence King's books. They are all wonderfully funny and frighteningly accurate about far too many of my own relatives!

Southern Perspective.......2003-06-05

The drawl that deceptively covers the importance of the very extensive scrutiny and judgment taking place in the Southern mind serves to avoid the unpleasantness that might be too prominent as practiced in the north, for Southern comfort. To be sure, the natural buffer - mostly learned from birth - is often misconstrued as ignorance or crudeness, but in fact, is largely underestimated by others of other regions of the nation who cannot seem to appreciate the gentility that lies beneath the exterior that is duly sensitive as a result, perhaps, of the Civil War, where modest humility had to become an acquired taste, and practiced sincerely and earnestly to provide dignity and respect in the new society that is the South. Mistakes are often made of the tolerance that Southerners have for lack of sensitivity and awareness of others, however, due to their history in that war, however, since most have a strict and rigid boundary of person and privacy, which when exceeded, nearly always produces backlash and disgrace borne of contempt for not upholding their lofty standards of interpersonal realations that emphasize the dignity and respect each person is deservedly entitled to. Most hometown southern ways are designed to manage those complexities with grace and delicacy without the disruption or indelicacy of full frontal confrontation which can often get out of hand due to their persistent spirit of independence. It's all in the interpretation, and the exposure!

Average customer rating:

Florence King at her very best
The Misanthrope's Corner
Long Live the Queen of Mean!

STET, Damnit!
Florence King
Manufacturer: National Review Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0962784168

Product Description

From the dust jacket: STET, Damnit! is a treasure trove: the only complete (and accurate- with typos!) collection of Miss King's biting and entertaining Oeuvre Misanthrope. Readers will revel as The Queen of Spleen skewers a kabob of society, fads and fatheads. Great writinig is timeless, and so it is with STET, Damnit!- a decade later, three years later, no matter how "old" her column, no matter how faded its topic, readers will find that Miss King's prose still dazzles. And that her whip still lashes!

Customer Reviews:

Florence King at her very best.......2006-03-12

This is a complete collection of all the 'Misanthrope's Corner' columns Miss King wrote for the National Review from 1991 to 2002.

Every column is a joy to read as Miss King gives her views, usually jaundiced, on current affairs, and is always amusing, whether you agree with what she is saying or not. She is savagely funny writing about the Clintons, the Bushes, the feminisation of America, and anything else that takes her fancy.

she is painfully funny writing about the Clinton/Lewinsky affair. Reminising about her own teen years she recalls:

....It is 1952. Now 16, I hav elost my baby fat and gone from duckling to swan, and my mother, who normally pays no attention to anything except baseball and her hero Sen. Joe McCarthy, is being uncharacteristically maternal. We are washing dishes when suddenly, out of the blue, she says:
"If a man ever asks you to do something funny to him, you tell him to go to hell, you hear?"
"What do you mean, 'something funny'?"
"Never mind, just promise me"
Mystified, I promise. The mystery deepens as she swung off on one of her patriotic tangents.
"That's why the French can't win a war without us! It saps their strength! They're so busy doing something funny to each other that the Germans just walk right in!"

Another favourite passage of mine is where she is writing about the effect that the draft had on men of her generation:

The draft produced the kind of men that today's girls have never known, and relations between the sexes were better for it. What sticks in my mind about them is their self-sufficiency and competence in fixing things that broke and figuring out solutions to emergencies. Thanks to the draft I belong to the last generation of American women who could scream "Do something!" and get results. Most of my men were intellectuals, but they had been taught in basic traning to change a tire in 90 seconds, rig up electrical wiring, tie knots that stayed tied, and take a rifle apart and reassemble it while blindfolded. This last was never necessary in civilian life, but it made for a self-assured deftness that was awesome.

Occasionally Miss King becomes quite lyrical in her praises, whether of the Post office, of Woolworths, Mario Lanza, or Alice Faye. There is a quite enchanting description of her first trip to Paris, and a very touching tribute to her aunt.

Whatever Miss King's views on the subject she is writing about, every column is a joy to read.

The Misanthrope's Corner.......2005-12-04

"Stet, Damnit!" is the complete collection of Florence King's 1991-2002 columns for the National Review. This reviewer is one of many who used to read National Review beginning with her weekly posting on the last page. King's keen insight into human nature, stubborn common sense, and acerbic wit made her column entertaining whether she was goring sacred cows and pompous egos on the left or right of the political spectrum. Her frequent reviews of movies and books were equal parts insightful and unforgiving of sloppy or pretentious work. Her retirement was a real blow to those who enjoyed her writing style.

This volume is highly recommended for those who are nostalgic for her column. The content holds up pretty well in spite of being a little dated. Hard core junkies of political commentary will also find this entertaining.

Long Live the Queen of Mean!.......2005-11-10

Florence King authored "The Misanthrope's Corner," featured on the back page of "National Review" for many years. The column was known for "serving up a smorgasbord of curmudgeonly critiques about rubes and all else bothersome to the Queen of Mean," as NR put it.

It's a rare writer who is not only a skillful wordsmith, but insightful and witty as well; Miss King's columns never fail to be all three.

"She is an unconventional satirist," said Louise Rothe of the Chattanooga News-Free Press, "funny, unpredictable, sometimes raunchy. Nothing, however trite, escapes her wit."

And now, a few excerpts...here are some of Miss King's amusing musings on stress in America:

"The American way of stress is comparable to Freud's 'beloved symptom,' his name for the cherished neurosis that a patient cultivates like the rarest of orchids and does not want to be cured of. Stress makes Americans feel busy, important, and in demand, and simultaneously deprived, ignored, and victimized. Stress makes them feel interesting and complex instead of boring and simple, and carries an assumption of sensitivity not unlike the Old World assumption that aristocrats were high-strung. In short, stress has become a status symbol."

Nor does England escape her withering observations. Her thoughts after watching a week's worth of TV coverage on the death of Princess Diana:

"My saturation viewing helped me make a vital decision. For some time I had been thinking of emigrating to England to bring my nationality in line with my blood, but I have now abandoned the idea. There is no England, just this demi-realm, this scepter'd loony bin set in a sea of rotting flora, this U.K. of Utter Kitsch where the crud de la crud build teddybear temples to a gilded hysteric who was nothing more than Judy Garland with a title. If I must live in a country where people who once tipped their hats now tip the scales, I might as well stay home and save myself the trouble of learning to look right instead of left to avoid an oncoming hug. My hyphen, right or wrong."

I like how she summed up her writing efforts in another column:

"Being a writer has made me a lifelong practitioner of no-holds-barred insight, driven by an irresistible impulse to shovel through mountains of received bull to get to the bottom of things."

It was a said day in 2002 when Miss King wrote her final column and laid down her shovel. But at least with this volume we can keep enjoying all the digging she did.

Long live King, the Queen of Mean!

Average customer rating:

the marvelous misanthrope
A purely superb book- straight shots of wit throughout

Reflections In A Jaundiced Eye
Florence King
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lump It or Leave It

ASIN: 0312039786

Book Description

In this collection of essays, Florence King confirms her position as one of the wittiest social critics now writing-and certainly the most uninhibited. Nothing escapes her withering gaze, from our greatest national institution ("Democrazy"), to the cult of Helpism ("Does Your Child Taste Salty?"), to the rules of historical romance writing ("Sex and the Saxon Churl"). If caring 'n' compassion are getting you down, open this book for a refreshing whiff of vitriol.

Customer Reviews:

the marvelous misanthrope.......2002-12-07

Florence King has a winning way with words and a rapier sharp wit; a rare soul who lives and writes by her own set of rules, few subjects are spared her criticism, as she pokes holes in the politically correct culture of the day.
Following in the tradition of her mother who was a "muleskinner cusser", Miss King decries the "decline and fall of profanity" which has dwindled down to a few meager 4 letter words. She also has much to say about the pandering of the "Helpists", "personality over character", her aversion to children, and more.

Being one myself, I thoroughly enjoyed Chapter 4, "Spinsterhood is Powerful". She says in this chapter: "I am often accused of being an anti-feminist, and my name is mud at Ms. Magazine, but in truth my whole life has been a feminist statement. The conflict lies not in my outlook and attitudes but in the definition of feminism that has been foisted on America in the late twentieth century".
Chapter 16, about her foray into the lusty romance novel genre (which she wrote under the pseudonym of Laura Buchanan) is hilarious, as are her efforts to write a magazine piece on the work of John Updike.

This collection of 18 essays was originally published in '89, and is a good example of her cynical but humorous viewpoint. Though dreadfully missed as a contributor to National Review Magazine, where she has recently taken her leave (her "Misanthrope's Corner" had graced the back page for decades), her books will continue to delight me, in their uniqueness and passionate spirit of independence.

A purely superb book- straight shots of wit throughout.......1999-07-12

This is simply a fine book. There exists not another fine wit like this anywhere, now that Mencken is dead.

George Will wrote of Miss King- "If Mencken were alive, he would be her". This is the highest praise imagineable, and well deserved.

Amazon.com

The chignoned, post-menopausal author of Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady has given us a feast--an anthology of her fiction and non-fiction written over the past 20 years. King has us dancing with joy as she turns her keen eye and uncivil tongue on sisterhood, the sexes and sex (she's against it these days), politics, and most particularly the South that hatched her. Ms. King is simply what many strive to be and few achieve--a true American original. She's unafraid, unabashed and unleashed from worrying about what anyone else might think.

Customer Reviews:

Masterful .......2004-09-19

I love Florence King. Paradoxically, she loves us too. She's the type of misanthrope who must hate humanity precisely because she loves it too much. I couldn't put this book down the first time I read it, and I keep coming to it again and again. It's even inspired me to proselytize: I've sent several copies to family and friends. King's writing and wit are razor sharp ("If Mencken were alive, he would be her" - George Will). Her powers of observation, of seeing behind the surface of things, approach Platonic proportions. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but I guarantee that you'll love this book.

Delightful collection of King.......2004-07-03

This book is incredibly good value. Not only does it contain extracts from all Miss King's hilarious books, Southern Ladies and Gentlemen, Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady, Reflections ina Jaundiced eye etc, but it contains the WHOLE of her wonderful novel 'When Sisterhood was in Flower' which sends up the wilder shores of Feminism so hilariously. Also there are lots of previously uncollected articles and book reviews, most of which I hadn't read before. There's even a chapter from her bodice-ripper "The Barbarian Princess" the writing of which is so amusingly described in 'Reflections in a Jaundiced Eye'. Lack of space means you won't find all your favourite passages here (for my money, the chapter 'The Sperm and I' in He:an Irreverent look at the American Male' is one of the funniest things she's ever written), but there is enough to keep any King fan happy for days. If you haven't before encountered Miss King's waspish wit and disdain for practically everyone and everything, this is a good place to start.

Amazing. She's my new heroine, that Florence..........2002-12-11

I've never read words so bitter or true. Her misanthropy is a fearlessness in the face of all the stupidity and injustice the world offers. And she happens to be hilarious.

Burnt out with idiocy? Join the club, which extends from King's American shores round the globe...

books research.......2002-03-19

1.I AM LOOKING FOR AN CLUESIVE BOOK.
2.I NEED A NON FICTION BOOK.
3.A BOOK FOR SCENERY&PICTURES.
4.BOOK FOR WELL KNOWN PUBLICATION.
5.A BOOK WOULD TELL ABOUT THE NEAR FUTURE.

Howlingly Funny.......2001-11-16

If you aren't familiar with Florence King, The Reader is a great place to start. Be warned, though: Ms. King is so conservative that she thinks the government's only purpose is to print the money, deliver the mail and declare war. Even so, as a moderate liberal with a sense of humor I found myself laughing out loud all by myself as I read. The exerpt from When Sisterhood Was in Flower made me laugh so hard that tears ran down my cheeks. It's too bad that novel is now out of print.

With Charity Toward None: A Fond Look At Misanthropy

Average customer rating:

I was a little disappointed
You don't have to hate people to love Florence King
No "hugees" here!
Great Joyous Life-Affirming Comedy
Brevity is the soul of wrath

With Charity Toward None: A Fond Look At Misanthropy
Florence King
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Reflections In A Jaundiced Eye
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ASIN: 0312094140

Customer Reviews:

I was a little disappointed.......2005-09-25

I like what she has to say about misanthropy, but I was expecting more shots at different types of people in general. Being a misanthrope, I can find many better reasons to not like people than some she has in this book. I was expecting a book that made fun of different stereotypes and discussed the variety of reasons to not like people in general.
This promoted more stereotypes than it did dissecting them, though. The book was more of a political statement on what the author considers the "feminization of America." I can think of many things wrong in America, but fewer misogynists isn't one of them.

You don't have to hate people to love Florence King.......2002-09-08

I resubmit my review, to link with my current list.

The "failed Southern lady" sets off into history, searching out other members of her own kind. This results in some intriguing character sketches of people like Ambrose Bierce, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Dian Fossey, and other famous people-haters. She verges on preciousness in places, as in the interweaving of Nixon's career with a poem by a French courtier. But the book is full of her acidic well-readness, and is endlessly quotable. The introduction is a great exposition--maybe the only one in popular literature--one what makes and what does not make a misanthrope. Enjoy your bitters!

No "hugees" here!.......2001-07-04

This is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. If you have had too much PC or have had it up to here with cloying sentimentality, or you just had too much "other people", get this book. If you like Dorothy Parker, H.L. Mencken, Ambrose Bierce, Grouch Marx, etc., you will love this book. Miss King spares no one and pulls no punches.

Great Joyous Life-Affirming Comedy.......2000-06-13

How can a book about misanthropy be joyful and life-affirming? Because Florence lets you know you're not alone. It can be pretty discouraging when everyone you know wants you to smile and be optimistic at all costs. Florence's devastations of the incompetent are the very definition of "catharsis." Mencken, whereever he is, must be green with envy.

Brevity is the soul of wrath.......1999-11-22

I disagree with the NY Times--this book's covers are not too close together. It is of perfect length for a nice antisocial weekend. Kudos to King for introducing the reader to less obvious misanthropes. I learned that Diane Fossey was a savage, Ayn Rand was an obsessive-compulsive Fuhrer-in-waiting, and Ty Cobb was just a bully. People often confuse misanthropy with psychosis. King is sharp enough to make the distinction. I would bump into her and exchange vulgar insults anytime.

Average customer rating:

Not for the narrow-of-mind or faint-of-heart

Lump It or Leave It
Florence King
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Reflections In A Jaundiced Eye
With Charity Toward None: A Fond Look At Misanthropy
Southern Ladies & Gentlemen
The Florence King Reader
Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady

ASIN: 031206568X

Customer Reviews:

Not for the narrow-of-mind or faint-of-heart.......1998-06-23

I loved Florence Kings 'Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady'. It was wildly funny and right on target for those of us who grew up in the South. 'Lump it or Leave it' has its moments but this time King's cutting humor goes to the bone. Sometimes funny, sometimes mean spirited. I think Ms. King is a brilliant story teller and I'd love to see more of that as opposed to her railings on random topics. Of course, Ms. King probably doesn't give a fuzzy rats butt what I or anyone else thinks anyway!

Average customer rating:

The Funniest Ever
Hilarious satire on feminism
Sisterhood is Hilarious

When Sisterhood Was Flower
Florence King
Manufacturer: Transworld Publishers Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady
Reflections In A Jaundiced Eye
Southern Ladies & Gentlemen
With Charity Toward None: A Fond Look At Misanthropy
The Florence King Reader

ASIN: 0552993751

Customer Reviews:

The Funniest Ever.......2006-09-14

I first read this about 14 years ago and it is simply the funniest thing I have ever read in my life...ever. And I have read a LOT of funny things. Even after all these years, when I re-read the parts about the Birthing Bucket and Poore Ned's Burning you-know-what, I become weak with laughter. I remember reading this aloud to my husband and being unable to continue because I was so convulsed. This is included in The Florence King Reader and is well worth any price.

Hilarious satire on feminism.......2003-10-24

This blissfully funny novel tells the story of Isabel, an introverted writer who finds herself to her horror having to share an apartment with Polly, a humourless radical feminist who drives her crazy. Then they encounter Gloria, a medievalist with an obsession about the gruesome death of Edward the Second. Polly inherits a house in California, and they set off to travel there, on the way they gather up Agnes, an abused housewife running away from her husband, and Martha, an elderly divorcee. The book is full of wonderfully funny incidents and marvellous characters. Gloria the crazed medievalist is particularly hilarious. The part where Isabel takes a job as a writer of porno novels is hysterically funny. I wish Florence King would write a sequel, I'd love to read more about this craz bunch of characters.

Sisterhood is Hilarious.......2000-06-19

When Sisterhood Was in Flower may be out of print as a single title, but it is available, in its entirety, in The Florence King Reader (which also contains excerpts from King's other books, book reviews, and uncollected essays), so mouse on over and order it. Sisterhood begins with the line "Call me Isabel.", which says a lot right there. Isabel, who has escaped from Virginia to Boston in 1971, falls in with a pair of most unlikely roommates, a cat named Quadrupet (and a pig named Farnsworth), the Don't Tread on Me feminist commune, the Sword and Scabbard porn-publishing company (don't miss their twelve author's guidelines, most of which can't be repeated in a public place), an inflatable doll, an enormous cauldron of scrapple, a raving survivalist, an Episcopalian priest -- but I don't want to give away all Isabel's secrets. I laughed out loud at Isabel's driving test, the court record involving the inflatable doll, the scarpple chase, and more scenes than I can count. Funniest thing I've read in years.

Average customer rating:

With Charity Toward None: A Fond Look at Misanthropy
King. Florence
Manufacturer: St. Martin's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H89PSI

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