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The Fran Lebowitz Reader

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The Fran Lebowitz Reader

By: Fran Lebowitz
Narrated by: Fran Lebowitz
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About this listen

 In the vein of Lebowitz's acclaimed Netflix limited series, Pretend It's a City—The Fran Lebowitz Reader brings together two of the famed author's bestsellers, Metropolitan Life and Social Studies.

In "elegant, finely honed prose" (The Washington Post Book World), Lebowitz limns the vicissitudes of contemporary urban life—its fads, trends, crazes, morals, and fashions. By turns ironic, facetious, deadpan, sarcastic, wry, wisecracking, and waggish, Fran Lebowitz is always wickedly entertaining. Americas Social Sciences State & Local United States Witty Funny

Critic reviews

“A great read.” –Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC’s Tonight Show

On METROPOLITAN LIFE
"Hilarious...an unlikely and perhaps alarming combination of Mary Hartman and Mary McCarthy.... To a dose of Huck Finn add some Lenny Bruce, Oscar Wilde and Alexis de Tocqueville, a dash of cabdriver, an assortment of puns, minced jargon, and top it off with smarty pants." —The New York Times

"Her humor made me laugh aloud and call friends to read passages to them." —Newsweek

On SOCIAL STUDIES
"Right on the mark.... Among the things she hates this time...baggage-claim areas, high tech, after-shave lotion, adults who roller skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan." —Newsweek

"Unique.... Lebowitz offers vocational guides for aspiring heiresses, popes, empresses; manuals for landlords; guidance to the rich who wish to meet the poor." —Vogue
All stars
Most relevant
Fran is wonderful at playing with words and twisting well known phrases with ease. She has a hysterical chip on her shoulder about... most things. And yet she delivers her wit and brilliant bon mots with a monotonous samey rhythm and a bored take the money and run attitude, or it simply pains her to read her own stuff. Either way, she should get a few coffees and get back in the booth again with a voice director.

Oh Fran.

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Fran is not a writer. There. I said it. She's a brilliant conversationalist and I could listen to her for hours when she is on stage or speaking with someone(eg Martin Scorsese). Her ode to NYC and all of its quirky characteristics, both good and bad, are mesmerising when there is someone who is helping her navigate through her thoughts to bring some order.

But as a writer, it just doesn't work. You get tired very very quickly. It actually becomes quite irritating after a while. It sounds impersonal and after the fifth joke about dry cleaning in NYC or the rats in the city, you get the feeling she's trying desperately hard to paint a picture that has already been clearly painted by everyone who ever writes about NYC. She has some brilliant one liners in there for sure, but a book it is not.
If you like Fran Lebowitz like I do, do yourself the favour of NOT listening to this audible, as it will only stain your admiration for her.

Tiring, Pretentious, Impersonal, and Forgettable

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not suitable for audiobook format....sounds like random lists of nonsense. unfortunate, given how funny and talented the author is.

unlistenable.

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