The Dud Avocado (Serendipity) (Pavanne Books) (New York Review Books Classics)

by Elaine Dundy

Terry Teachout (Introduction)

THE DUD AVOCADO gained instant cult status on first publication and remains a timeless portrait of a woman hellbent on living. It is, as the GUARDIAN observes, 'one of the best novels about growing up fast'.

Sally Jay Gorce is a woman with a mission. It's the 1950s, she's young, and she's in Paris. Having dyed her hair pink, she wears evening dresses in the daytime and vows to go native in a way not even the natives can manage. Embarking on an educational programme that includes an affair with a married man (which fizzles out when she realises he's single and wants to marry her); nights in cabarets and jazz clubs in the company of assorted "citizens of the world"; an entanglement with a charming psychopath; and a bit part in a film financed by a famous matador. But an education like this doesn't come cheap. Will our heroine be forced back to the States to fulfill her destiny as a librarian, or can she keep up her whirlwind Parisian existence?

• ISBN10: 1590174135
• ISBN13: 9781590174135
• Publish Date: 17 November 2010 (first published 1 March 1961)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: New York Review of Books
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 280
• Language: English

Reviews

[merryfaith]

I picked this up because someone had described it as Bridget Jones' Diary's 50s spiritual grandmother, or something like that. Granted: I have never actually watched or read anything Bridget Jones' Diary (yet!), but there's still a global pandemic going on, and I wanted something lighter and maybe funny, and thought this would fit the bill. I almost abandoned it in part 1, but parts 2 and 3 fared much, much better.

Is there a plot? More than just Sally Jay just getting into and out of trouble gallivanting in Europe on her Uncle's money, not really. Were there some parts that aged horribly? For sure, especially the descriptions of the gay bars and LGBT+ characters - I cringed. Did I somehow end up liking Sally? Weirdly, yes. It wasn't that funny to me, but I still felt good when it ended? Go figure. I actually preferred this over most of the romance/chick lit I've read this year so as far as a mostly mindless pandemic mood read goes, it somehow fit the bill. I don't know if that actually makes it a good read or just good because I could escape some with it.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Sally Jay Gorce is a young American tourist trying to conquer Paris in the late 1950’s. Often compared to Edith Wharton and Henry James who both wrote about American girls abroad, the Dud Avocado is a romantic and comedic adventure unlike anything I’ve read before. A novel that gained cult status quickly, this is a quirky story of a woman hell-bent on really living.

This is really a hard novel to review, simply because I don’t want to give people too many expectations or spoil the plot in any way. The Dud Avocado is the type of novel you go into not really knowing what to expect and just let it take you on a journey. Never knowing which direction Elaine Dundy is planning to take and never really understanding Sally Jay Gorce’s choices. She is a woman that wants to live life to the fullest and experience everything that is out there for her; is it a good idea? Most definitely not, but she picks herself up and continues. She is going to make her romantic mark on Paris and there is not a damn thing you can do about it.

I find myself reminded a little of A Sport and a Pastime in parts but mainly when I think of France, the lust and passion. After that it is more similar to a beat novel with a female protagonist travelling around Paris looking for love and passion. She is smart, sexy, hilarious and frivolous; Sally Jay is sure to charm every man in the City.

At times I enjoyed the journey I was on and then there were times I just felt lost and unsure of what will happen next. The book seems to dip in and out of this feeling of excitement, full of adventures and misadventures, then it just peters out and remains a little flat. The whole novel felt just like Sally Jay’s life, no plans, no direction, just taking it one day after another; we may have an adventure but sometimes we don’t. This was a really interesting tactic, I felt like her life was an enigma and every attempt to try understanding her failed. Real people are never meant to be simple and Elaine Dundy created a truly complex character in Sally Jay Gorce.

Think Breakfast at Tiffany’s if it was written by a beat author. The Dud Avocado is going to take you on a journey without a road map; you won’t know if you’ll ever get to the final destination but you’ll get somewhere. Like I said before, I don’t want to spoil the journey, I think something really interesting has been done here and it is worth looking into.

I’m a little surprised this was set in the late 1950’s, this sort of sexual freedom normally goes hand and hand with the 1970’s. But then again this is France and they have a stereotypical reputation for being progressive. I don’t know enough about social behaviours of the time, especially in Paris but I can’t help but think this novel pretty accurate. The Dud Avocado did have a very authentic feel to it. It’s an unusual novel but it was well worth the experience.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://www.knowledgelost.org/random/regular-segments/book-of-the-month/book-of-the-month-the-dud-avocado/