It is possible to appreciate the wit of S.J. Perelman contained in this volume on country living, and still maintain that the contents have aged badly. Eighty years ago wordplay of this type, most prominently displayed in film scripts Perelman did for the Marx brothers, could produce gales of laughter. Today, I find myself watching Marx brothers movies only for Harpo, whose humor transcends time because it is wordless; the Groucho patter, and this book, mostly leave me cold.
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