Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

By Anita Loos

Book Overview

The literary classic that inspired the iconic Marilyn Monroe film--a brilliant satire of the Roaring Twenties that follows a wide-eyed blonde and her cynical brunette friend as they take Europe by storm, now with an introduction by Marlowe Granados to celebrate the book's 100th anniversary

"Cheeky . . . the zany surrealism of the Marx Brothers crossed with the desire--both sexual and material--of Sex and the City."--Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air

Some might call Lorelei Lee lucky. Others, names she would not even put in her diary. Life in New York is becoming routine, so when her wealthy companion Mr. Eisman suggests that "a girl with brains ought to do something else with them besides think," Lorelei is up to the challenge.

Accompanied by her best friend Dorothy Shaw, Lorelei chronicles the sights and people of Europe in her diary in a consistent mix of hilarity and accidental wisdom--"Paris is divine" and "London is really nothing at all." Reliant on the good graces of the gentlemen around them to stay afloat as they await Eisman's arrival on the continent, Lorelei and Dorothy skirt unscathed and at times oblivious around scorned and greedy lovers, plots of Francophone thievery, and even murder charges.

This hilarious, rip-roaring travelogue is a sharp-eyed takedown of the hypocrisy of Prohibition, the Roaring Twenties, and anyone foolish enough to stake their wallet on the dumb blonde stereotype. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is more than a guilty pleasure--it is a literary classic.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0593445821
• ISBN13: 9780593445822
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Modern Library
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Absolute Blast. . .Context, People!

I am surprised to find reviews dipping below the appropriate 5 star. I guess many people in our era look from 'politically correct' viewpoints. Any book you read comes from a specific point in time and social view point. Boring advice aside: This is one of the best comedy books around, so deliciously light and speedy, the reader needs a few reads to really understand the depth of Loos' genius. But, upfront, this is a laugh a minute and should be read in bed on a rainy Sunday morning with phones off. "Dorothy looked at me and looked at me and she really said she thought my brains were a miracle. I mean she said my brains reminded her of a radio because you listen to it for days and days and you get discouradged and just when you are getting ready to smash it, something comes out that is a masterpiece." Read, enjoy, repeat. But try to get an edition with Ralph Barton's intimate illustrations.

Forget feminism and deep meanings - just enjoy it!

This book is on my list of all-time favorites, not because of what it may or may not say to or about society (I think if you're going to get that deep about it you're missing out), but because I've read it four or five times and it still makes me laugh out loud. I, too, saw the movie first, and liked it, but the book is fantastic. I love the irony, the misspelled words, the subtle humour that sometimes makes me do a double-take before cracking up (even after four readings I still do this). It's a great book to read if you want to kick off your shoes, hang out on the deck in the sun, and just lose yourself for a few hours in Lorelei's adventures. Gentlemen: it was a male friend who recommended it - I think you guys would get a kick out of it too. Enjoy!

Hilarious

Anita Loos's "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" is a comic masterpiece. Loos tells the story of Lorelei Lee, a blond, money-seeker, opportunist girl on a trip through Europe. From Now York to London, to Paries and all the way through Vienna Lorelei meets lots of gentlemen, charms them, gets money and jewels from them and then light-heartedly leaves them with a short note in which she promises she will meet them somewhere else, perhaps. A real strumpet, Lorelei Lee emerges as a delicius crature from Loos genial prose, and by the end of the book, we have learned to love her.

Read "for real" which made it even funnier

The reader tells Lorelei's diary-story with an openness, a directness that charms the listener. This is a real Lorelei, not a cartoon, and therefore even funnier.