David Rose published
They Call Me Naughty Lola: Personal Ads from the London Review of Books a couple of years ago, and this is a worthy successor. British humor [humour?] often has a strong streak of self deprecation.
Kate Fox, a cultural anthropologist and author of Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour, was interviewed by "The New York Times" four years ago. She compared the London Review personals to a British advertising campaign showing people recoiling in revulsion from Marmite. "An advertising campaign focusing exclusively on the disgust people feel for your product strikes a lot of people as perverse. [But when Britons exaggerate their faults, they are really telegraphing their attributes.] "It does speak of a certain arrogance, that you have the confidence and the sense of humor to say these things."
At this writing, Amazon had not allowed access to the contents of this book, as it did for the earlier entry in the series, so here are a few of my favorites:
"England's best hope for Olympic gold if ever there was an Olympic event for wearing plaid and brogues. Man, 56,"
"Think of every sexual partner you've ever had. I'm nothing like them. Unless you've ever slept with a bulimic German cellist named Elsa. Elsa: bulimic German cellist (F, 37)."
"In France, it's just a kiss. In England it's just a muffin. In Belgium it's just a waffle. In Germany it's just a shepherd. You know what I'm saying. Man, 41. Box no. 5520."
The book is divided into a number of chapters that give a taste of the entries, including:
"A time capsule of despair"
"The usual hyperbole and a whiff of playful narcissism"
"Only love is catching"
"Further evidence of the Banach-Tarski paradox" [Egghead ads, even by the high standards of the journal. Rose provides a number of explanatory footnotes for some of the more esorteric ads, especially helpful for this Colonial with respect to some British slang.]
"You know who you are" [Rose discussed this chapter on NPR a few days ago; the phrase is included in each of the entries, and its meaning is not entirely clear. (e.g. "Woman, 38: WLTM man to 40 who doesn't try to high-five her after sex. You know who you are.") Rose said that, perhaps, you "had to know who you are", to know what the phrase meant in any particular ad.
As a hard or soft cover book, this sort of collection is generally much more fun taken in small doses -- but of course having a book available for a minute or two of persual isn't always practical. However, on the iPhone, this collection really shines. My cell phone has become an essential part of my life. These short ads remind me of exceedingly clever Twitters, and my phone delivers just enough of them to be fresh and funny without becoming cloying.
Best of all they are always at hand.
Robert C. Ross 2010
