There's life for you. Spend the best years of your life studying penmanship and rhetoric and syntax and Beowulf and George Eliot, and then somebody steals your pencil.
Dorothy ParkerRead
This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote humorously suggests that the novel isn't worth just being disregarded; it’s better suited to be forcefully discarded.
Dorothy Parker's quote uses irony to express disdain for a particular novel, implying that it is so unworthy that it should not just be casually set aside, but rather hurled away as if it is a burden. This reflects Parker's sharp wit and her critical view of literature that fails to engage its reader, emphasizing that some works elicit strong negative reactions.
Themes
NovelLiteratureDisdainHumorIrony
In practice
Example use cases
In a book club discussion, one could refer to this quote when talking about a particularly disappointing read.
More from Dorothy Parker
All quotes →My land is bare of chattering folk; / the clouds are low along the ridges, / and sweet's the air with curly smoke / from all my burning bridges.
Dorothy ParkerRead
Prince or commoner, tenor or bass, Painter or plumber or never-do-well, Do me a favor and shut your face - Poets alone should kiss and tell.
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They say of me, and so they should, It's doubtful if I come to good. I see acquaintances and friends Accumulating dividends And making enviable names In science, art and parlor games. But I, despite expert advice, Keep doing things I think are nice, And though to good I never come Inseparable my nose and thumb.
Dorothy ParkerRead
It is that word 'hunny,' my darlings, that marks the first place in The House at Pooh Corner at which Tonstant Weader fwowed up.
Dorothy ParkerRead
I can’t write five words but that I change seven.
Dorothy ParkerRead
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