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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Slightly dated, rowdy romp in Mexico,
By
This review is from: Please Write for Details (Mass Market Paperback)
Please Write for Details was first published as a hardback (rare for John D. MacDonald) in 1959. The paperback edition, a Fawcett Gold Medal, hit the shelves in 1960. Despite his prolific output, Please Write for Details is a rare excursion into comedy, for this normally somber author. Based in Mexico, the book tells the trials and titillations of a group of American at the "Cuernavaca Summer Workshop".The 'art' workshop, the brainchild of a particularly mousy expatriate and his bemused millionaire benefactress, is a mess from the start. The aging hotel location is a shambling ruin, staffed by petty thieves and amateur prostitutes. The two instructors - a painter of mall-art watercolor kitsch and a bombastic failed professor - are polar opposites, each completely worthless in their own distinctive way. And none of the dozen students - all American and silly - are actually there to learn a thing about art. Some of the best - and the funniest - characters are those that are least seen. A pair of nauseating newlyweds never fails to elicit giggles at their romantic antics (including a truly horrific tendency to feed one another at the dinner table). Similarly, the cannon-voiced old Colonel is hilarious from start to finish - he's on a mission to paint TERRAIN, and has painted hundreds of famous battle-fields, all 'uncluttered' by soldiers and other such nuisances. Most of the humor, predictably, comes from romantic shenanigans. The book is a cross between "Noises Off" and "Carry On, Mexico". It is worth noting, however, that JDM very carefuly keeps the shenanigans romantic and not sexual. In fact, by the conclusion of Please Write for Details, the reader has absorbed a lengthy morality play, with many a judgement passed on those who (cough, blush) commit acts of carnal sin. Although generally very funny - and, as noted above, surprisingly complicated - there are two troubling flaws with the book. The first is the extremely-dated and racially-charged depiction of Mexico, the second is the treatment of Gloria. Setting aside these two sour notes, Please Write for Details is an enjoyable romp. John D. MacDonald is at his best with an ensemble cast, and Please Write for Details is no exception.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not your usual McDonald,
By
This review is from: Please Write for Details (Mass Market Paperback)
I've read this 20 years ago so my facts may be a bit off but the story involves a summer art school in Mexico which attracts a bunch of varied and interesting people. A few are still vivid in my mind. The main thing I remember about this novel is what a great pleasure it was to read. No crime, no killings, just an absorbing story that makes you cheer for the characters to make it. Please Write for Details refers to the magazine ads that describe the school.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Art, Erotica and Tequila,
By
This review is from: Please Write for Details (Mass Market Paperback)
Written in 1959, this is a slightly different, satirical side of MacDonald. He peoples the story with a whole cast of characters, each with their own world views and foibles. He goes into a psychological depth for each character that is more than is needed to create such fictional people, but it allows him the room to show how each person is changed by this Art Workshop in Cuernavaca, Mexico. It starts out as a fast-buck scheme, but, in the end, no one wants their money back, and art is the least of everyone's concerns.
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