The Fran Lebowitz Reader
The Sunday Times Bestseller
Published on 23. January 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-0-349-01962-8 (ISBN)
Description
Contrary to what many of you might imagine, a career in letters is not without its drawbacks - chief among them the unpleasant fact that one is frequently called upon to actually sit down and write.
Acerbic, wisecracking and hilarious, this is the definitive essay collection from the New York legend and satirist.
Lebowitz turns her trademark caustic wit to the vicissitudes of life - from children ('rarely in the position to lend one a truly interesting sum of money') to landlords ('it is the solemn duty of every landlord to maintain an adequate supply of roaches'). Her advice for would-be Absolute Political Dictators is invaluable ('Not recommended for the shy type'), and her attitude to work is the perfect antidote to our exhausting culture of self-betterment ('3.40pm. I consider getting out of bed. I reject the notion as being unduly vigorous. I read and smoke a bit more').
'The gold standard for intelligence, efficiency and humour. Now and forever' DAVID SEDARIS
'She's inexhaustible - her personality, her knowledge, her brilliance, most of all her humour' MARTIN SCORSESE
'The rare example of a legend living up to her own mythology. She really is THAT funny' HADLEY FREEMAN
'A marvellous raconteur, full of wit, wisdom and rebellion. Genuinely one of the funniest people in the world' IRENOSEN OKOJIE
'In a world of humming, hawing, couching and obfuscating, there's nothing more refreshing than a dose of Fran Lebowitz' CAROLINE O'DONOGHUE
'As witty, original, and impeccably discerning as the woman herself, The Fran Lebowitz Reader is a modern classic set to be read for generations to come' OTEGHA UWAGBA
The Fran Lebowitz Reader was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 11-06-22
Acerbic, wisecracking and hilarious, this is the definitive essay collection from the New York legend and satirist.
Lebowitz turns her trademark caustic wit to the vicissitudes of life - from children ('rarely in the position to lend one a truly interesting sum of money') to landlords ('it is the solemn duty of every landlord to maintain an adequate supply of roaches'). Her advice for would-be Absolute Political Dictators is invaluable ('Not recommended for the shy type'), and her attitude to work is the perfect antidote to our exhausting culture of self-betterment ('3.40pm. I consider getting out of bed. I reject the notion as being unduly vigorous. I read and smoke a bit more').
'The gold standard for intelligence, efficiency and humour. Now and forever' DAVID SEDARIS
'She's inexhaustible - her personality, her knowledge, her brilliance, most of all her humour' MARTIN SCORSESE
'The rare example of a legend living up to her own mythology. She really is THAT funny' HADLEY FREEMAN
'A marvellous raconteur, full of wit, wisdom and rebellion. Genuinely one of the funniest people in the world' IRENOSEN OKOJIE
'In a world of humming, hawing, couching and obfuscating, there's nothing more refreshing than a dose of Fran Lebowitz' CAROLINE O'DONOGHUE
'As witty, original, and impeccably discerning as the woman herself, The Fran Lebowitz Reader is a modern classic set to be read for generations to come' OTEGHA UWAGBA
The Fran Lebowitz Reader was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 11-06-22
Reviews / Votes
The gold standard for intelligence, efficiency and humour. Now and forever -- David Sedaris She's inexhaustible - her personality, her knowledge, her brilliance, most of all her humour -- Martin Scorsese Fran Lebowitz is the rare example of a legend living up to her own mythology. She really is THAT funny -- Hadley Freeman In a world of humming, hawing, couching and obfuscating, there's nothing more refreshing than a dose of Fran Lebowitz -- Caroline O'Donoghue Unique .... Lebowitz offers vocational guides for aspiring heiresses, popes, empresses; manuals for landlords; guidance to the rich who wish to meet the poor * Vogue * The funniest woman in America * Washington Post * Despite now being over 40 years old, the essays still glitter, every bone-dry sentence pared down and packed with her unmistakeable personality -- Hadley Freeman * Guardian * A forcefield of comic self-certainty in a world of anxious uncertainty * Guardian * Right on the mark ... Among the things she hates ... baggage-claim areas, high tech, after-shave lotion, adults who roller skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan * Newsweek * 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 * 'the most well-connected iconoclast since Dorothy Parker' -- Jane Mulkerrins * The Times * In a world of humming, hawing, couching and obfuscating, there's nothing more refreshing than a dose of Fran Lebowitz -- Caroline O'Donoghue A marvellous raconteur, full of wit, wisdom and rebellion. Genuinely one of the funniest people in the world -- Irenosen Okojie As witty, original, and impeccably discerning as the woman herself, The Fran Lebowitz Reader is a modern classic set to be read for generations to come -- Otegha UwagbaMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Dimensions
Height: 194 mm
Width: 122 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
264 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-349-01962-8 (9780349019628)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2021
Virago Press Ltd
€2.99
Available for download
Previous edition
Book
03/2023
Virago Press Ltd
€33.61
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Arriving in New York over fifty years ago, Fran Lebowitz made her name as a columnist on Andy Warhol's Interview magazine, before publishing two bestselling volumes of essays, Metropolitan Life and Social Studies, which are collected in The Fran Lebowitz Reader. She is one of America's most insightful social commentators, a sought-after public speaker, style icon, wit and flaneur. Fran Lebowitz has collaborated with Martin Scorsese on two documentaries: the film Public Speaking in 2010, and the limited series, Pretend It's a City in 2021. Lebowitz lives in New York City, as she does not believe that she would be allowed to live anywhere else.