The Dud Avocado

“It was a hot, peaceful, optimistic sort of day in September. It was around eleven in the morning, I remember, and I was drifting down the boulevard St. Michel, thoughts rising in my head like little puffs of smoke…”

The Dud Avocado, by Elaine Dundy, follows the adventures of Sally Jay Gorce, an American in Paris. She has no plans and no real expectations – only for adventure. She falls in and out of several acting jobs and falls in and out of love with several men. Along the way she breaks off an affair with her older Italian lover, takes up with a movie-star-to-be and loses her passport.

I had never heard of The Dud Advacado before reading it. I had never heard of the book’s author Elaine Dundy. But there is really something wonderful about this book. There is a hint of the chick-lit we’re all so used to nowadays. But there’s a depth, an intellect, a realness to the story and especially to the characters that is so often absent in the chick-lit books we’re inundated with now. There’s an evolution to Sally Jay and her story. She’s not saintly – she has good moments and some not-so-good moments, but she’s always open to life, open to adventure.

It’s amazing to think that this book, so filled with adventure, wit, and energy about one independent free-thinking young woman was written in 1958. Some of the fashions and slang may have changed, but the themes present in this book have weathered the years and still resonate with young women of today. Figuring out what you want in life and what kind of person you want to be is tricky business. And can be a bumpy road. I couldn’t put this book down and recommended it to ALL my friends. Very glad I bumped into it that day in the bookstore.

Bitter is the New Black

The title pretty much says it all. This is the tale of a bitter, unemployed, fabulously attired, fiercely determined woman in her 30’s. Her name? Jen Lancaster. Her mission? Find a job. Where does the bitterness fit in? Well, way back when, she had it all: a fabulous apartment, regular hair and spa appointments, designer bags, designer shoes and a good paying job. Unfortunately she was fired and left scrambling as she tried to decipher life with no job. Sound like the next big thing in chick lit? Guess again. This is the true story of a real girl in the very real world.

The hilarity of this book stems from how Lancaster fills her days once her former employers give her the old heave-ho. Volunteering her time at a local animal shelter (in designer clothes), collecting unemployment checks (carrying a designer bag), redecorating her not-so-humble abode and spending plenty of quality time watching reality TV. She also deigns herself a junior sleuth – drawing up plans to solve the mystery of her missing newspapers. But starting her own website about her unemployment and attempts to find employment is what sets her back on course (eventually). This book is so hilarious, I often found myself laughing out loud on the train on my morning commute to work (the stares of annoyance didn’t even bother me).

If Lancaster were a super-sorority-bitch all the time, this book would probably be unbearable to read. And though the tone of Bitter is the New Black is truly sarcastic there are pockets of real life that pop up which any reader can relate to. One of my favorite moments was when Lancaster was explaining why the air conditioner was broken and was exasperated why no one could understand said explanation:

“I told him fifteen times the blowery thing worked fine but it never made the big whoosh full of cold, cold air so the pipes didn’t get sweaty and the issue was a lack of the chilly-making juice. I said we probably just needed another box of neon like we did when our AC was out in Lincoln Park. I’m not sure how I could have expressed the problem more clearly.” (cue laughter followed by annoyed looks)

Ultimately Lancaster was writing about a bad time in her life. But she got through it with the support of her boyfriend, her grit, and a great sense of humor. She got through it all and came out the other side a little wiser. Lancaster wrote two sequels to her first memoir – I can’t wait to get my hands on them and speed through.