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Fran Lebowitz
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The Fran Lebowitz Reader Paperback – November 8, 1994

by Fran Lebowitz (Author)
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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.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    333 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Vintage
  4. Publication date
    November 8, 1994
  5. Dimensions
    5.18 x 0.93 x 7.98 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0679761802
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0679761808
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

They say that age brings wisdom--or resignedness, at least--but every time you see Fran Leibowitz, she's just as hangdog as ever. Hey, Fran, how about writing a few more humor columns? That'll cheer you up! Or maybe not, but until she writes more columns, we'll have to make do with The Fran Leibowitz Reader. This paperback collects her two bestsellers of the 1970s into one volume, Metropolitan Life and Social Studies. Back then, her books defined knowing, urban cool. Guess what? They still do. If you were a mite too young to appreciate Leibowitz's take on that libertine decade the first time around ("Notes on Trick," anyone?), now is an excellent time to make her acquaintance. The pieces still hold up as good writing and deliver plenty of sharp laughs. Would that we had her jaundiced take on the '90s, which could use some Leibowitz-style deflating. Come back, Fran! Come back!

Review

“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

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; First Edition (November 8, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 333 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0679761802
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0679761808
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.18 x 0.93 x 7.98 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

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Fran Lebowitz

Fran Lebowitz

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
1,833 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

mary
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2024
Verified Purchase
Love Fran's dry sense of humor.
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Noonski
5.0 out of 5 stars One Of My All-Time Favorites
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2014
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One could write a long, thoughtful review about this book, but that would require an expenditure of energy that Lebowitz would frown upon. Not that Fran Lebowitz is against using energy, she's just selective about where and when she uses her energy. Generally speaking Fran Lebowitz uses her energy to take a nap, to smoke, to enjoy cocktails, and, now and then, to write. Also, she uses a great deal of energy thinking about how much better the world would be if The General Public would "collectively fall off a cliff."

I'll admit that many of these essays are dated -- Lebowitz hasn't published much in the past decade or so. As a result, some of the references and jokes feel a little old to modern ears. However, as someone who lived through the 1970s and 80s, these essays conjure up a sense of nostalgia that someone in their 20s or 30s might not feel. That isn't to say if you're in your 20s or 30s you shouldn't read this book: you should. Especially if you want to write. As entertainment, Lebowitz's essays are a delight. Yet, they are also so well written that any aspiring writer of essays (or "creative non-fiction") would do well to read and study these gems. Lebowitz doesn't spend a great deal of time with fancy words, and long, flowing sentences -- she wastes no words.

I would add that if you are not curmudgeonly, or are unaware of what curmudgeonly means, this book might not appeal to you. However, if you are the kind of person who dislikes most things -- especially other people -- then this book is definitely for you.
103 people found this helpful
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Tamera Hanna
4.0 out of 5 stars Sharp, sharp lady...
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2011
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After watching Martin Scorsese's documentary, Public Speaking, on HBO, I was compelled to order this book of compiled essays. I am greatly enjoying Ms. Lebowitz's works. As another reviewer states, some references are dated (but she was writing about her times), and/or New York-centric. Being a 37 year old Californian, some of the references are whizzing right past without my grasping them. But, I don't care. I love the tone and voice in which the essays were written and love the fact that this sharp, brilliant, quick thinking woman put her words to paper. Kudos to HBO and Martin Scorsese for "shining a light" on her!
4 people found this helpful
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avb
5.0 out of 5 stars As much as I love Fran Lebowitz, I was not impressed.
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2023
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I love watching and listening to Fran, but I'm surprised to learn that I don't like reading her writing. It read as neurotic and hard to follow, like someone going to great pains to describe something complicated and funny that they thought of a few days ago. It's painful to read, actually, and does not flow at all. I was so excited to get this and was really disappointed. I absolutely adore listening to her, but I think my experience contains a clue as to why she hasn't written a book in over 30 years.
3 people found this helpful
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GranTenore
5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Fabulous
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2021
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I have always loved Fran and have followed her appearances from coast to coast. She is probably one of the most intelligent, witty, irreverent people in the universe. This book most definitely does not disappoint. There are many new observations, and while reading it on the bus here in San Francisco, I was laughing so hard that most people thought I was totally insane.
I highly recommend this: you will cherish it forever!!!!
6 people found this helpful
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Rebecca H.
3.0 out of 5 stars For die-hard fans, and folks nostalgic for the 1970's New York art scene
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2023
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I consider myself a die-hard fan who loves listening to Fran's "sardonic social commentary" and scathing wit on talk shows and the spate of recent documentaries. And even though I lived a stone's throw from NYC in the 1980's and was aware of the art scene and of most of the artists and musicians she rubbed elbows with and wrote about, I had never actually read anything she'd written until I ordered this collection. My initial sense was that reading her words was just like listening to her talk - only less funny. Bottom line- there is a lot of New York art scene stuff and observations of the New York leisure class in the 1980's, and a handful of side-splitting, laugh-out-loud chapters ("The Nail Bank," "Writers on Strike"). This collection wouldn't be for everyone. Doesn't really stand the test of time....
11 people found this helpful
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friendoflizd
5.0 out of 5 stars Still hilarious!
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2016
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Despite some dated references (answering services, address books, the rampant proliferation of conceptual art as a harbinger of the apocalypse), the short humor pieces collected in the two books that make up this volume - Metropolitan Life and Social Studies - are still among the funniest ever written. Lebowitz is, to borrow a phrase from one of the essays, "a superior prose stylist." I read the books over and over when they were first published (1978 and 1981) and spent hour after hour giggling, chortling, and helplessly laughing out loud. They still crack me up. Even though you don't realize it, if you've never read these pieces, your life is small, cramped, and meaningless. Do yourself a favor and buy this book, even if you have to ask your mother (or your favorite gay uncle) to explain who Halston was.
32 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars FUNNY!
Reviewed in Canada on December 18, 2023
Verified Purchase
Highly recommend. Fran Lebowitz is a brilliant writer.
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cecile
2.0 out of 5 stars i thought i would laugh
Reviewed in France on March 24, 2024
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but she is unfortunately too much a caricature of herself
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Betty Davis
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Fran as always
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2024
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£2.00 saving on publisher price.
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Wanda
5.0 out of 5 stars The Fran Lebowitz Reader
Reviewed in Italy on August 11, 2023
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Libro divertente. L'ironica Fran Lebowitz ha un'opinione su tutto. Il libro è arrivato nei tempi previsti.
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moreno
5.0 out of 5 stars Buch pünktlich geliefert
Reviewed in Germany on January 23, 2023
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Buch mit Kurzgeschichten über das alltägliche Leben in NY, sehr unterhaltsam und mit Humor geschrieben.
One person found this helpful
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