The Unexpurgated Code: A Complete Manual of Survival and Manners

If you are intoxicated with the the creative possibilities of the English language, and are of "a certain age", you should find this book irresistible. Yes, the language is dated; as it was when it was originally written (in the 70s?). But the satire on the English upper crust/peerage and the clawing parvenus who are attempting to become same are priceless. Donleavy is an acquired taste, possibly, but I think his works are all excellent in their own way. Do check it out; you should be utterly enchanted.

This book was reviewed at the time as "The SOB's Emily Post" and I can't think of a better short description. Absolutely the wittiest and most laugh-out-loud book I've ever read -- and I've read a lot of books. Donleavy careens from one social faux pas and calamity to the next... "On being caught with your best friend's wife"... "On determining that you are on an aeroplane that is about to crash"... and provides true Looking Out for Number 1 self-preservation, the-world-can-bite-me advice. Beautifully crafted, as is all Donleavy's work, sometimes shocking in its juxtaposition of words, and deriving its true impact by couching its directives in the stilted language of the 1930's English Country Folk -- I must advise you: Do NOT read this book in a room or situation that requires silence; otherwise you will try to restrain laughter to such an extent that you'll give yourself a thrombosis. It's the only paperback book that I've guarded and kept for over 20 years.

I had this book some 20 or more years ago & somehow misplaced it in a move. I've been trying to find it for years! Am still awaiting search results - I MUST HAVE THIS BOOK in my possession again & one for my brother. It is ridiculously funny - a great better-than-spoof of the usual Miss Manners and Emily Post advice. I want to read it again and again.

Absolutely the drollest, driest work of humor I have ever read. So painfully funny, it'll send you to the ICU.

It is a royal shame that Donleavy's best work since The Ginger Man is so insanely out of print. I discovered this book at a very young age, thanks to my dad, and finally acquired my own copy in Canada, of all things. Donleavy's take on the old Emily Post manners books is spot-on evil, giving advice and directions for even the stickiest situations. By starting from the assumption that you are an S.O.B. to begin with, this book will merely add fire to your arsenal. If a bee should sting your you-know-what while on the golf course, you'll hope you've read this book, as it tells you the most socially appropriate response! Other sections deal with how to attend your own funeral, where to blow your nose at a party when no hankerchief is avialable (see summary line), what to do if you find you are at an erotic massage parlor, only to discover that your masseuse is a family member, and so much more. The misanthropy it must have taken to write this book seems boundless and endless, and finishing the entire book almost feels like an endurance test. Resoundingly negative in a healthily positive way. Search every used book store everywhere for a copy. I plan to buy every copy I find so I can lend them out without worrying about whether the cad S.O.B. I'm lending it to will bother to give it back.