Reflections in a Jaundiced Eye

Simply put, Florence King is one of two people that I consider the best American essayists and writers of our modern era. Her writing has always been concise - Reflections in a Jaundiced Eye shows that talent in its highest art form. From her chapter on writing a romance novel to her chapter on John Updike, King nails her points to the door of thought and reason and lays it all out for everyone to read. While some of the material is dated (you had to live through the Reagan era to see the brilliance of her take on his style of communication) it is well worth diving into. King is a true Conservative. However, unlike people today who run around and scream that they are conservatives (case intentional) and base their conservatism on type of Medieval thinking that pushed monks up into monasteries to protect knowledge, King embraces learning, in herself and she expects it of her readers. If you are going to read King and get what she is saying, you the reader will need to be prepared to think for self. The simple truth is that King has never received the type of critical acclaim that she has deserved. Had she, "Florence King" would be a household name, and she deserves that place in our collective minds.

Florence King has a winning way with words and a rapier sharp wit; a rare soul who lives and writes by her own set of rules, few subjects are spared her criticism, as she pokes holes in the politically correct culture of the day.Following in the tradition of her mother who was a "muleskinner cusser", Miss King decries the "decline and fall of profanity" which has dwindled down to a few meager 4 letter words. She also has much to say about the pandering of the "Helpists", "personality over character", her aversion to children, and more.Being one myself, I thoroughly enjoyed Chapter 4, "Spinsterhood is Powerful". She says in this chapter: "I am often accused of being an anti-feminist, and my name is mud at Ms. Magazine, but in truth my whole life has been a feminist statement. The conflict lies not in my outlook and attitudes but in the definition of feminism that has been foisted on America in the late twentieth century".Chapter 16, about her foray into the lusty romance novel genre (which she wrote under the pseudonym of Laura Buchanan) is hilarious, as are her efforts to write a magazine piece on the work of John Updike.This collection of 18 essays was originally published in '89, and is a good example of her cynical but humorous viewpoint. Though dreadfully missed as a contributor to National Review Magazine, where she has recently taken her leave (her "Misanthrope's Corner" had graced the back page for decades), her books will continue to delight me, in their uniqueness and passionate spirit of independence.

This is simply a fine book. There exists not another fine wit like this anywhere, now that Mencken is dead. George Will wrote of Miss King- "If Mencken were alive, he would be her". This is the highest praise imagineable, and well deserved. Miss King is to prose as Elton John is to rock piano. Do not overlook this book.