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Dating for Women, Men, Women & Relationships - Humor
Bachelor Girls by Wendy Wasserstein β€” book cover

Bachelor Girls

by Wendy Wasserstein, Luann Walther
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Overview

In plays such as Isn't It Romantic, Uncommon Women and Others, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Heidi Chronicles, Wendy Wasserstein put her finger on the pulse of her past-modern, post-feminist sisters and delivered her diagnosis with shrewd good humor and an unerring sense of the absurd. That same engaging sensibility bubbles through the twenty-nine essays in Bachelor Girls, in which Wasserstein presents her observations on:
-- Boyfriends -- "The worse the boyfriend, the more stunning your American Express bill."
-- Role Models -- "In the forties emulating an ideal woman meant bobbing your hair like Betty Grable's. In the eighties, because of Jessica Lange, women have to get a Pulitzer Prize-winning actor-playwright to fall in love with them, have a child by one of the world's great dancers, be nominated for two Academy Awards, and enjoy doing the laundry alone on a farm."
-- Success -- "I knew my friend Patti was a big-time Hollywood agent the first time I saw her dial a telephone with a pencil."

Ranging from the dietary secrets of lemon mousse to the politics of the second marriage, with stopovers at a bar mitzvah in Westchester, a chess tournament in Rumania, and a Tokyo production of Isn't It Romantic, Bachelor Girls is pure Wasserstein, which is to say, pure joy.

From the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, her first book--fresh, funny, serious look at the lives of women today.

Synopsis

In plays such as Isn't It Romantic, Uncommon Women and Others, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Heidi Chronicles, Wendy Wasserstein put her finger on the pulse of her past-modern, post-feminist sisters and delivered her diagnosis with shrewd good humor and an unerring sense of the absurd. That same engaging sensibility bubbles through the twenty-nine essays in Bachelor Girls, in which Wasserstein presents her observations on:
— Boyfriends — "The worse the boyfriend, the more stunning your American Express bill."
— Role Models — "In the forties emulating an ideal woman meant bobbing your hair like Betty Grable's. In the eighties, because of Jessica Lange, women have to get a Pulitzer Prize-winning actor-playwright to fall in love with them, have a child by one of the world's great dancers, be nominated for two Academy Awards, and enjoy doing the laundry alone on a farm."
— Success — "I knew my friend Patti was a big-time Hollywood agent the first time I saw her dial a telephone with a pencil."

Ranging from the dietary secrets of lemon mousse to the politics of the second marriage, with stopovers at a bar mitzvah in Westchester, a chess tournament in Rumania, and a Tokyo production of Isn't It Romantic, Bachelor Girls is pure Wasserstein, which is to say, pure joy.

Publishers Weekly

In 29 semi-humorous essays, Wasserstein expatiates on topics including manicures and body-hair waxing, relationships between men and women, and her love of plaid. ``Possibly amusing as stage patter or magazine filler, such trite ephemera turn deadly gathered between a book's covers,'' said PW. (June)

About the Author, Wendy Wasserstein

Wendy Wasserstein is the author of the the plays Uncommon Women and Others, Isn’t It Romantic, The Sisters Rosensweig, An American Daughter, and The Heidi Chronicles, for which she received a Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and of the books, Bachelor Girls and Shiksa Goddess. She was admired both for the warmth and the satirical cool of her writing; each of her plays and books captures an essence of the time, makes us laugh and leaves us wiser. Wendy Wasserstein was born in 1950 in Brooklyn and died at the age of 55. Her daughter, Lucy Jane, lives in New York.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In 29 semi-humorous essays, Wasserstein expatiates on topics including manicures and body-hair waxing, relationships between men and women, and her love of plaid. ``Possibly amusing as stage patter or magazine filler, such trite ephemera turn deadly gathered between a book's covers,'' said PW. (June)

School Library Journal

A collection of 29 personal essays, most of which previously appeared in magazines. Heavy, it's not. Lots of fun, it is. From tales of an Auntie Mame-type mama (who once dressed up as Patty Hearst, complete with beret and toy gun) to a surprisingly poignant description of a romance gone awry, Wasserstein paints a vibrant picture of today's single young women who aspire to independence but still want meaningful relationships. A literary ``Cathy'' (the cartoon) with the same appeal. --Diana C. Hirsch, Prince George's County Memorial Library System, MD

Book Details

Published
July 1, 1991
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Pages
224
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780679730620

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