"Hilariously imagined text conversations--the passive aggressive, the clever, and the strange--from classic and modern literary figures, from Scarlett O'Hara to Jessica Wakefield. Mallory Ortberg, the co-creator of the cult-favorite website The Toast, presents this whimsical collection of hysterical text conversations from your favorite literary characters. Everyone knows that if Scarlett O'Hara had an unlimited text-and-data plan, she'd constantly try to tempt Ashley away from Melanie with suggestive messages. If Mr. Rochester could text Jane Eyre, his ardent missives would obviously be in all-caps. And Daisy Buchanan would not only text while driving, she'd text you to pick her up after she totaled her car. Based on the popular web-feature, Texts from Jane Eyre is a witty, irreverent mashup that brings the characters from your favorite books into the twenty-first century"-- - (Baker & Taylor)
Library Journal Reviews
This is the best kind of English-major humor. Ortberg, cocreator of the website The Toast, has a wicked sense of humor and an enviable grip on roughly the entire Western literary canon. The book consists of text conversations between notable fictional characters and authors, who are characters in their own right, such as Lord Byron, Henry David Thoreau, and Emily Dickinson. It's loosely arranged by literary era. A final section includes more modern authors (Cormac McCarthy), works (Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca), and literary phenomena (the "American Girl" series, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter books, etc.). Conversations involving Great Expectations and Little Women are particularly entertaining. There's not a weak point in the book; it's terrific, snicker-inducing fun throughout. For the uninitiated, this title may serve as a gateway drug for The Toast. VERDICT Bibliophiles who enjoy their humor laced with snark will be thrilled to find this book, which is probably the only published work containing texts from Medea, Scarlett O'Hara, and Jessica Wakefield. [See Prepub Alert, 6/2/14.]—Audrey Snowden, Orrington P.L., ME
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