Just Finished Reading: The Custard Heart by Dorothy Parker (FP: 1944) [50pp] 

This was a short collection of three stories from the original publication The Portable Dorothy Parker. I’d heard of her before, but this was the first time I'd read anything by her. The first story – The Custard Heart itself – concerned an obviously upper middle-class Mrs Lanier (presumably custard hearted!) who struggled with the reality of the Jazz Age, including poverty and any kind of emotional trauma. The main job of everyone around her was to protect her from that reality which, with various degrees of success, they managed to do. I did find it moderately amusing. 

The second, much longer, story was Big Blonde which centred on said ‘big blonde’ Hazel Morse who looked for love and found it. Unfortunately, the love didn’t last and, as much fun as she was to be with, she had to find other ways of getting by in a rough world. This involved a series of partners passing through town and an ever-increasing quantity of alcohol. 

Lastly, there was the very short (FIVE page) story You Were Perfectly Fine where a young man suffering from a hangover and only the faintest of memories of the night before is constantly reassured by his girlfriend that his behaviour the night before wasn’t ALL that bad. Again, this was moderately amusing and was, indeed, something I could quite relate too from my university years. 

Overall, this was a reasonable read. I can see why the author was viewed as witty and as a critic of the darker side of the Jazz Age. Despite appreciating her style and rather good character development, I’m not totally sure that I’ll be looking out to read more by her. I checked recently for any longer form novels, but Parker seems to have written mainly short stories and poetry. Still, this was worth a read and served its purpose of introducing me to new authors.