Life, 1925-01-29 · page 25 of 37
Life — January 29, 1925 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from Life magazine contains a literary column reviewing three books, accompanied by a large satirical illustration titled "The Boobs' Paradise." The illustration is a densely-packed, Art Deco-style cartoon depicting a glamorous 1920s entertainment district or nightlife venue. It shows numerous storefronts and attractions with signs advertising entertainment, beauty treatments, and vices—including "Shadyland Dancing," "Miladi Mud Massage," "Radio," and other establishments suggesting frivolous leisure and vanity. The style suggests this is satirizing the shallow materialism and hedonistic pleasures of the Jazz Age and consumer culture. The architectural density and crowded signage mock the overwhelming commercialization of urban entertainment. The title "The Boobs' Paradise" implies criticism of the masses and their pursuit of superficial amusements rather than intellectual or meaningful activities—a common Life magazine critique of contemporary American popular culture and consumer excess.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE, « ~ Lite and ‘Letters a: Mest mystery stories sound as if the hand that penned them had cuided by a firm overlapping clasp. s if they were dictated to a stenog- r who set down exactly what she d and then sent it off to the pub- r. Those written by J. S. Fletcher which may be why he is the uthor of several of our coun- atest men. Mr. Fletcher takes to put in “touches,” much as a | chef flutes a pasty to evidence the sure he takes in his own skill. A cher villain, standing by a window, not be too preoccupied with crime verlook the flower-box on the ledge 1¢ firm below or even to whiff in of its fragrance. Sometimes Mr. tcher will go so far as to mention 1 the flowers have just been watered « girl clerk, Which has nothing to with the case, of course, but every- « to do with literary style. The Wolves and the Lamb” nopf) is the new Fletcher book, and 1 must not be deceived by the smok- ing revolver on the jacket, because only one shot rings out in the story and it is by no means the pivot of the plot This time we have an unsophisticated man with three hundred thousand pounds and no place to go until a pair of clever scoundrels take him in hand and begin to show him about. A valu- able diamond necklace dodges in and out of the story on the “Who's-got the but- ton?” principle, and an exciting time is had by all, including the reader. IF you can fight your way through the crowds in the first chapter of “The Matriarch,” by G. B. Stern (Knopf), you will come upon an interesting old woman and the ramifications of a huge family which she bossed, as the poet has it, right and left. Never have I scen or heard of so many people in a book. I gave up trying to identify the sisters and the cousins and the aunts after a few pages, and devoted my in- terest to old Anastasia Rakonitz, Toni, the granddaughter who was to grow up "SHADYLAND DANCING =. - MILADI- MUD MASSAGE THE BOOBS’ PARADISE so like her, and Daniel, who got into the family on a fluke. On page a child is told: “You are the eldest daughter of the eldest son of the eldest daughter of the eldest son of your great- great-great-grandfather, Simon Rako- nitz.” The little girl seemed to get it, but I didn’t,so I unfortunately turned to the genealogical table appended to the final chapter and accidentally learned that Daniel did not marry Toni after all, which took some of the wind out of my interest’s sails. Remembering in time, that I mustn't be a foolish sentimentalist, I turned back and fol- lowed the Rakonitses up to 1924. It was something like picking out the de- tail on densely populated tapestry, and likewise more or less worth the pains. of six however, NTRANCED,” by Grace Flandrau (Harcourt, Brace), brings out beautifully what can happen to our psy- chology when we are given some light as to how other people actually see us. (Continued on page 32) comicbooks.com