Review of "Phyllis Diller’s Housekeeping Hints," by Phyllis Diller

 Review of

Phyllis Diller’s Housekeeping Hints, by Phyllis Diller

Five out of five stars

Jokes from a legend and a trailblazer

 Very underappreciated by most people other than the female comics that came after her, Phyllis Diller was nothing like her stage persona. She characterized herself as a dingbat, klutz and all around incompetent, yet she was a comedic genius. She wrote her own jokes, and her timing could be used as an educational tool. She always appeared holding a cigarette holder, even though she did not smoke. The cigarette in the holder was actually wooden. Her cackle laugh was also a signature feature.

 Phyllis Diller was the first female comic to make it as a national star and the female comics that came after do not hesitate to pay tribute to her. The jokes in this book demonstrate her comedic acumen, for they appeal to women who find the role of neat and tidy homemaker to be frustrating. The jokes are all at the level of the sixties clean, all could have, and some did, appear on network television of the sixties.

 A true comedic genius, Diller demonstrates in this book that she was an excellent writer of jokes about the lazy and incompetent housewife.