(completed reading 8/11/9) Anita Loos is my hero of the week! This fictional diary of a young lady in the 1920's is hilarious, skewering its vivacious heroines, their besotted suitors, stuffy society ladies, various gentlemen of Britain, France and across the continent, and a number of famous people of the day, including a guest appearance by Freud, who advises Lorelei to "cultivate a few inhibitions and get some sleep."
Loos does so much with an economy of words, using mispellings to demonstrate her diarist's lack of education and her inability to appreciate anything beyond the material to show her lack of culture. But our heroines aren't stupid; in fact, they seem to be able to out-think most of the people they associate with, nor do their values appear to be out of place by comparison.
I highly recommend reading this; still haven't seen the movie based on the musical based on the book.
I also found the following quote interesting: "...kissing your hand may make you feel very very good but a diamond and safire bracelet lasts forever." This book was published in 1925; Frances Gerety wrote the famous "A Diamond is Forever" adline in 1948 -- both The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire (Tom Zoellner) and Hope diamond: the legendary history of a cursed gem (Richard Kurin) note the connection, but neither suggests plagiarism.
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