Powdered Eggs Paperback – January 30, 1973

I first read Powdered Eggs in the 1960s--the era of black humor--and recently reread it. Times change and we change with them but some novels (like this one) don't wear so well. A period piece that you can probably afford to skip.

Excellent story teller and creator of characters one really cares about. Both of those characteristics define what a good writer is.

An old boyfriend suggested I read this years ago and I had given it back to him but recently found it on line...it is a hootMarguerite

Way back at the beginning of time, when I was "coming of age," there was at least one obligatory book on that subject that had to be read, with a "forbidden word" on page 186, of my paperback copy (it's amazing what sticks in the neurons). The book was The Catcher in the Rye It still seems to alive and kickin', with over 3,000 reviews at Amazon. Yet at the same time there was this book, with the same coming of age theme, which seemed to be so much superior, and much funnier. I read both books in the early `60's, and I decided to re-read this one. It was a delight the second time around, and I was truly amazed how many of the passages I had retained. With apologies to Bob Dylan's "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands," it did truly seem to be: "...with your sheet-metal memory of Powdered Eggs."The book was published it in 1964, and I sprung for the $3.95 hard copy. The author explains the title straight off: the hen is impregnated, lays an egg, but then someone comes along, sucks all the juice out, puts the contents in an envelope, and sends it off. Not the original purpose of the process at all; a metaphor for life. Religion and sex, the taboos of polite dinner party conversations, are dominant themes throughout. Politics and the coming war are nowhere to be seen. And there is the painful introduction to the work world. Though he can be scathing about religion on an "equal opportunity" basis, much is reserved for the particular bête noir of his upbringing, the Catholic Church. It resonated, for sure.Simmons packs a lot into 220 pages: an unfavorable dissection of the medical establishment over the death of his father; Mary, the bright-eyed Irish Catholic girl who wants to keep her membrane in tack; Prudence, who wasn't and although pregnant by another, might be a suitable spouse. Of fond remembrance was the novel within the novel. It involves Austin, who loses his floggis, the organ that gives everyone their opacity, and therefore becomes invisible, and fears capture by the opaque scientists. Simmons has a lot of good fun with that theme. And there is a truly marvelous section on our hero, the would-be writer, working for an encyclopedia publisher - of a most dubious character, since it steals its entries from other encyclopedias. He does "test runs" on how it would be sold, with laugh out loud scenes. Later, there are additional scenes involving the corruption in the publishing industry, with $500 paid for favorable reviews. Hum! And towards the end, he visits Italy (in pursuit of Prudence) and so there are the inevitable European-American observations.Bon mots? More than a few: "Tremendous vacuous mush, the kind of much Billy Graham stirs the gallstones of old ladies with." "Sometimes I think the worst thing that could happen to Jews would be for everybody to become a Jew." "What would Francis be without that collar, without the skirts of the Church, the ready blessings, the power to loose and to bind, the mumbled Latin and the talismanic breviary? Either a f*g, practicing or frustrated, or an impotent married man." "What's with Italian cooking in America? That's not Italian food; it's a base for condiments." "They decided to remove the offending foldout, and they said that I too was a genius. Should I be proud or ashamed?" Now, how often have I used that last sentence?Poignancy. Another brilliant scene has him washing his Austin-Healy sports car, expanding much energy, "high caloric potentials," and three old ladies pass, one in a wheelchair, pushed by two others: "Yesterday they opted for life, bought a few minutes of the earth with a nickel of their fund, and I had said Enjoy the day, ladies. We understood each other, the old ladies and I...From these old ladies childhood admonitions about and against sex had dropped away. It no longer seemed to them a problem to be female, you choose a man, he chooses you, he has his way with you, but you with him, he works, you bear, you both donate your bodies to the future and you die. Why do the young females make such a thing of it, old ladies think now?"Looking for a doctoral thesis? Why wasn't this book the "coming-of-age" book of the early `60's, instead of The Catcher in the Rye? Simmons went on to be the editor of the NY Times Book Review for a number of years, but waited a long time, almost to the millennium to try his hand at the same theme, in Salt Water, which will be an obligatory read.A great book, whose potential to entertain and instruct a generation was lost. 5-stars plus.

So I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. It's just middle of the road for me. I assume my fairly neutral feelings come from the fact that this book is a bit dated. I wasn't alive in the 60s. That's not to say that I cannot read books from/about eras not known to me personally -- just this one didn't make me feel connected to it.The story is told via one sided letters (the pen pal sometimes responds and sometimes does not, but we never see those letters). A young man, fresh from college, is attempting to figure out his place in the world. To truly be a writer or to just settle for a job. To pick this girl or that one. To keep this friend or not to.Probably the best part of the book comes at the very end, where the letters are summed up as the writer of them decides that perhaps they can be a part of his novel. Even though it was the best part of the book, I still found it to be a little forced. It basically was a few passages explaining that such letters in novel form would be criticized as boring (it was).I think this book is just for a different generation. Things that were not taboo subjects then are now and ones that were shocking then are not now. To have a story like that work for everyone we need to really connect to the characters, I didn't.I do think that this is a 5 star book for someone, just not me.* Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?

I hope that all of my recent five star reviews to not dissuade you to the authenticity of my ratings. I was even hesitant if I should rate this book five stars because of the above mentioned issue, but then I figured that rating this lower because of previous high ratings was ridiculous. So another five stars it is. I just hope that you don't think I'm an overly agreeable reader. Because I'm not. I'm a harsh bitter bookworm for the most part :PAnyways sorry for the ramblings, on with the review.I loved this book. Although it is hard to describe what it's about. The story follows a young man's daily life, although there are many stories inside the story. I didn't mind this fact, but some people may find it a little annoying. For example the main character is a writer and he randomly will include long passages of his novel in the book. However I found his novel quite amusing so I did not mind.I found the narrative to be relatable, humorous and witty. Even though in my opinion the plot was about nothing in particular I had such a fun time reading this and it was so hard to put down.The only criticism is that the main character is supposed to be in his early twenties but I feel like he sounds much older than that. I would not classify this book as young adult because in my opinion it was very mature in an juvenile way if that makes sense.Overall I thought this was a quick witted, funny read and I would recommend. The title is random as hell though.Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Better than I remembered it some fifty years ago; funny, sharp and beautifully ironic; Powdered Eggs is packed full of the totally unexpected.

A classic hippie read!