Mr. Right Is Dead

By Rona Jaffe

Book Overview

Often regarded as her finest and most literary work, "Mr. Right Is Dead" is Rona Jaffe's collection of short stories from 1965. Containing five stories and one novella, each story has the savvy and sharp tone that characterize the best of Rona Jaffe's writing. The title novella centers on a call girl with "a heart of gold," who acquires lovers and money with her innocent charm, and closes with "Rima The Bird Girl," about a woman who assumes a new identity each time she has an affair. Each story carries its own unique and engaging voice; altogether they are about women looking for self-fulfillment and salvation through lovers, money, and fleeting worldly pleasures. "Mr. Right Is Dead" is about those searching desperately for "the best of everything" and learning a great deal about love, and its falsities, along the way.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440164206
• ISBN13: 9780440164203
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Very Different From Jaffe's Usual

The first story is a novella, the tale basically of a Holly Golightly type named Melba Toast who uses men for their money, and her female friend and admirer who is not sure she can or wants to become like Melba. This story and the rest of the short ones are quite different from the ones of Jaffe's usual innocent, naive heroine who has limited insight to her own behavior. The tone is more real, the women are more realistic, and the stories are just more well-written overall. I would recommend this book over any other Jaffe book.