Title: Auntie Mame
Author: Patrick Dennis
Published: 1955
My edition: Broadway Books Paperback 2001
Purchased From: Strand
Pages: 299

Synopsis (from Strand): The world’s most beloved, madcap, devastatingly sophisticated, and glamorous aunt, Mame is impossible to resist, and this hilarious story of an orpahned ten-year-old boy sent to live with his aunt is as delicious a read in the twenty-first century as it was in the 1950s.

I read this because: I saw the copy that my friend Jon was re-reading, and it looked like just the sort of thing I would like too.

My thoughts: I adore Auntie Mame. I can’t believe I had never heard of the books, the movie, or any of the stage adaptations. Thank goodness I’m no longer in the dark. It’s an extremely fun book, and very witty. Auntie Mame is one of the most memorable and likable characters in literature. She’s fabulous, ridiculous, charming, and mischievous. Reading this book is a treat. It’s a great book to read at any time, but would be a particularly good one to read while traveling, or anytime you want a lighthearted (but still smart), funny book to make you smile.

Follow up required: I’m looking forward to reading the other Auntie Mame book: Around the World With Auntie Mame. I am also incredibly excited to see the movie version with Rosalind Russell, which I’m watching later tonight with a few friends.

You might like this book if you like: P. G. Wodehouse

Links to purchase: IndieBound, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, Strand

My favorite passage:

By one o’clock there were more than a hundred and twenty relatives milling around Peckerwood, all talking, and all talking loud. Mrs. Burnside indicated her disapproval of all this with a fanfaronade of flatulence. (page 70)