Customer Reviews

The Glorious Pool

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It seems like the intention here was a sex fantasy but the author followed is humorous instincts rather than erotic instincts. Much of the comedy is silly dialog. He borrows an idea from one of his earlier books "Nightlife of the Gods" and has an ancient Greek based statue come to life as a beautiful, naked, amorous, young woman who seeks satisfaction or at least fun. An old couple skinny dips in a pool and physically rejuvenates. People inexplicably spend the whole book naked.

No doubt some will take exception to the treatment of the Japanese servant or perhaps for revering cocktails, or operating fire engines under the influence. I allow for the fact that the story is from another time and another mind set. Mostly it's a story that doesn't need to make much sense. It's just light hearted fun.

There are those who may object to the treatment of Nockashima, but few who would object to the stereotypical French maid (a nice bit of hypocrisy), and the plot rather fizzles out at the end, but then poor Thorne Smith died while writing it, so what can one expect? In spite of these faults, this book contains the greatest comic dialogue ever written, and, if it is by some obscure chance preserved for posterity, it will put crowds of people into stitches of laughter for generations to come. To say that I cannot recommend it highly enough would be an understatement. I rank The Glorious Pool somewhat above the Bible (which likewise suffers from dodgy authorship and weak points in the plot [not to mention that the Bible is one of the most remarkably humorless books available]), and I always keep a copy near at hand.