{"product_id":"the-dud-avocado-9780349020884","title":"The Dud Avocado","description":"\u003cp\u003eA sparkling cult classic about sex, growing up and being an American in Paris - now reissued in the gorgeous new green spine design.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Funny, funny, funny. She's wicked and wise' \u003c\/b\u003eGRETA GERWIG\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'One falls for Sally Jay Gorce from a great height from the first sentence' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eOBSERVER\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Scandalous and entertaining . . . Both funny and true'\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eEVENING STANDARD\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'One of the best novels about growing up fast'\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'This dizzying evocation of youth, sex, irresponsibility and doubt is laugh-out-loud funny' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eDAILY MAIL\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eHere was all the gaiety and glory and sparkle I knew was going to be life if I could just grasp it . . . \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSally Jay Gorce is a girl hellbent on living. It's the 1950s and she's an American in Paris: witty, headstrong and disaster-prone. She dyes her hair pink, wears evening dresses in the daytime and prowls the Left Bank in search of love, adventure and fame. But an education like this doesn't come cheap. Will our heroine be forced back to the States to fulfill her destiny as a librarian, or can she keep up her whirlwind Parisian existence? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs effervescent as a champagne cocktail, \u003ci\u003eThe Dud Avocado\u003c\/i\u003e is a deliciously funny cult classic.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eINTRODUCED BY RACHEL COOKE\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9780349020884\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 07 Apr 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Little, Brown Book Group\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 19.6(H)x12.6(L)x2.6(W)267\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 267\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eElaine Dundy (1921-2008) grew up in New York City and Long Island. After graduating from Sweet Briar College in 1943, she worked as an actress in Paris and, later, London, where she met her future husband, the theater critic Kenneth Tynan. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDundy wrote three novels, \u003ci\u003eThe Dud Avocado \u003c\/i\u003e(1958), \u003ci\u003eThe Old Man and Me\u003c\/i\u003e (1964), and \u003ci\u003eThe Injured Party\u003c\/i\u003e (1974); a play, \u003ci\u003eMy Place \u003c\/i\u003e(produced in 1962); biographies of Elvis Presley and the actor Peter Finch; a study of Ferriday, \u003ci\u003eLouisiana;\u003c\/i\u003e and a memoir,\u003ci\u003e Life Itself!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003eReaders turn to it again and again for its jokes, which are very funny and remain so after a dozen readings -- Rachel Cooke * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eA\u003cb\u003e champagne cocktail\u003c\/b\u003e . . . Rich, invigorating, and deceptively simple to the taste . . . One falls for Sally Jay Gorce from a great height from the first sentence * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eAs delightful and delicate an examination of how it is to be twenty and in love and in Paris as I've ever read * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eI had to tell someone how much I enjoyed \u003ci\u003eThe Dud Avocado.\u003c\/i\u003e It made me laugh, scream, and guffaw (which, incidentally, is a great name for a law firm)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFor a highly likeable and amusing narrator, who throws herself into Parisian life.\u003c\/b\u003e A cult classic to reconnect me with France and feed my love of sharp observational humour . . . a hedonistic whirlwind in Paris and the South of France, pulled along by its whip-smart American heroine, Sally Jay Gore (out of the way, \u003ci\u003eEmily In Paris\u003c\/i\u003e). This is someone I am desperate to drink Pernod with. Where life has felt so constrained, \u003cb\u003ethis was such a liberating read\u003c\/b\u003e -- Emma Reed * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eScandalous \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003eentertaining\u003c\/b\u003e . . . Both funny and true * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA youthquake classic that inspires joie de vivre\u003c\/b\u003e -- Louise Candlish, author of OUR HOUSE * Good Housekeeping *\u003cbr\u003eThis\u003cb\u003e dizzying evocation\u003c\/b\u003e of youth, sex, irresponsibility and doubt is \u003cb\u003elaugh-out-loud funny \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003emakes you yearn to be 21 again\u003c\/b\u003e, drinking Pernod in a pavement cafe with a handsome lover * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003e**'A champagne cocktail ... Rich, invigorating, and deceptively simple to the taste ... One falls for Sally Jay Gorce from a great height... * OBSERVER *** 'As delightful and delicate an examination of how it is to be twenty and in love and in Paris as I've ever read’ *\u003cbr\u003eSUNDAY TIMES ** 'Both funny and true * EVENING STANDARD *","brand":"Elaine Dundy","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48544239714521,"sku":"9780349020884","price":24.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9780349020884.jpg?v=1776451981","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/the-dud-avocado-9780349020884","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}