Anita Loos narra las hazañas de una pareja de amigas, la rubia Lorelei Lee y la morena Dorothy Shaw, dos auténticas depredadoras en el marco del puritanismo y la mojigatería de la Norteamérica de la década de 1920, cuyo más característico emblema era la Ley Seca. Ambas causan estragos por donde pasan: Lorelei conquista industriales, intelectuales, aristócratas, fiscales del distrito y hasta al mismísimo doctor «Froid», al que conoce en Viena y que le recomienda cultivar, ya que no tiene ninguna, algunas inhibiciones. Dorothy, siempre con su tendencia a enamorarse de quien no le conviene, y siempre, según su amiga, menos «refinada», será en todo caso capaz de divertir al príncipe de Gales enseñándole unas cuantas palabrotas. Los fabulosos engaños de este memorable par de pícaras se leen, en los pocos momentos en que uno puede parar de reírse, como grandiosas victorias sobre una sociedad que, realmente, no merece otra cosa que ser estafada.

Re-read after about five years and it was just as funny, which I find is a rare occurrence. ( )

A brilliant, brilliant novel! (And in my opinion far better than "Catcher in the Rye", because Lorelei is an unreliable but likable narrator who does a fine job of navigating expectations to get what she wants in a pretty hostile world, and who is at least as self-centered as Holden but more fun.)

Lorelei Lee has a very distinctive voice. Her blend of "refined" and ignorant is funny at first, but rather touching as one gets into her head. As is her approach to life: while she cites high ideals, she is utterly pragmatic when it comes to actions, to a point where one can only admire the choices made by "a girl like I".

Her BFF, Dorothy- the brunette- is both more seemingly sensible and cynical, but also makes very poor life choices, especially by Lorelei's standards. Dorothy is a welcome snarky voice, though most of the snark sails right over Lorelei's head.

This edition contains "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes", plus a LOT of interesting back-story about the history of the books and their genesis.

It also has illustrations from an early edition, but unfortunately many of them are very muddy in print; I wish they had been cleaned up more.

These were the inspiration for the Marilyn Monroe movie, which was itself the inspiration for the Madonna "Material Girl" video- in which Madonna channels Lorelei for the dance number, and Dorothy for the context. Nicely done!

VERY highly recommended. This ought to be a taught classic. ( )

A fun romp through the mind of Manhattan's most famous gold digger. A quick, easy, lighthearted read. ( )

What a riot! So utterly entertaining. Really enjoyed Lorelei and Dorothy's journey into society to become more learned. While Lorelei's constant ability to overlook common sense is very amusing, I found Dorothy's 'riskay' remarks (which Lorelei never seems to understand to their full extent) to be totally gleeful. I was also particularly fond of the social commentary on prohibition and censorship in cinema. Truly great boook.

'You have got to be the Queen of England to get away with a hat like that.' ( )