Please Write for Details

by John D. MacDonald

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449129268
• ISBN13: 9780449129265
• Release Date: March 1986
• Publisher: Fawcett Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful characters!

I will admit I am not done reading this little book yet, but so far it is wonderful! The best mix of characters I have come across in a long time. There is not one in the whole group who I am not enjoying! Each story gives a different and quite real, though funny portrayal of people as they are! Since this is the first time I have read any of Macdonald's books I am happy there are so many more to choose from!

Not your usual McDonald

I've read this 20 years ago so my facts may be a bit off but the story involves a summer art school in Mexico which attracts a bunch of varied and interesting people. A few are still vivid in my mind. The main thing I remember about this novel is what a great pleasure it was to read. No crime, no killings, just an absorbing story that makes you cheer for the characters to make it. Please Write for Details refers to the magazine ads that describe the school.

It's 'la vida loca' for MacDonald's characters!

Known world-wide for his Travis McGee detective series, author John D. MacDonald has written many more books that don't feature this "knight in tarnished armor." In "Please Write for Details," the MacDonald wit comes to fore as he journeys south of the Border and sets his tale of American expatriates in a Mexican art colony known as the Cuernavaca Summer Workshop. Indeed, the author has collected about the weirdest assortment of odd balls and thrown in even more zany "adventures" as we find him showing a terrific sense of humor. While, of course, this book is not a comedy, it does have its moments. Instead of "ars longa," it's more like "ars erotica" as these crazy Americans romp in and out of different types of "positions." There really is no basic character, but the entire workshop and a number of the locals feature heavily in this tale.It's a great read, as much as to see MacDonald in another mode as anything. His great writing style is still there and basically nothing has changed in the author's literary swirl. It's one of the very few books I have ever read more than twice, and it's still a pleasurable read!Billyjhobbs@tyler.net

One of the funniest novels you'll ever read, period.

This should be back in print. MacDonald's sly tale of the goings-on at a Summer art school in Mexico is utterly hysterical. I remember laughing until I cried the first time I read it, not once but several times. MacDonald showed he could write an extremely perceptive comic novel. Perfect timing throughout and quite different from his usual procedural crime thriller. This is what you might characterize as "middle-period" MacDonald, and as such there are the occasional infelicities of character development and dialog, but it's still a masterful outing. You'll love it.To all film producers: this would make a truly hilarious movie!