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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Books Not Cake, but Good Nontheless

Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 5:00 PM

Sloane Crosley is the author of the collection of humorous first person essays I Was Told There Would Be Cake. I loved the book. Both Bethany Jean Clement and Slog commenter PopTart hated the book—maybe it's a boy/girl thing?—but I at least have confirmation, with her list of 6 favorite books, that Sloane Crosley is a great reader.

Five of the books—Birds of America by Lorrie Moore, The Chosen by Chaim Potok, Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield, and Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion—are wonderful. I haven't read the sixth, On the Edge of Reason by Miroslav Krleza. But the way Crosley describes it, "A droll philosophical novel about a Croatian man who, one day, decides to speak his mind during a dinner party and conversational and social chaos ensue," pretty much guarantees that I'll read it soon.

Comments (11) RSS

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I didn't like the book, but then again, I was expecting it to be the novelization of the video game Portal.

Posted by Ziggity on September 30, 2008 at 5:32 PM

Paul, you just think she's pretty and want to give her a pony.

Posted by PopTart on September 30, 2008 at 5:43 PM

There should be some kind of engraved certificate, saying like, "Paul Constant has judged you, and you were not found wanting." You could hand them out after the Genius Awards.

Posted by elenchos on September 30, 2008 at 5:49 PM

I think Bethany and PopTart are correct on this one, Paul, although in truth I only got through 1/3rd of it before I put it down for good. Her writing is phony, not funny. For a funny read, see _My Custom Van_ by Ian Michael Black. Highlights include the foreward by Abraham Lincoln, his rebuttal to Lewis Black's rant against candy corn, and the essay about his custom van.

Posted by Sean on September 30, 2008 at 5:59 PM

Her writing reminds me of a funny friend, which is why I really like her periodical essays, but have a hard time plunking down cash for her book.

Posted by Dougsf on September 30, 2008 at 6:00 PM

Yeah, I was underwhelmed. There were some funny parts, but it wasn't that great. The chapter on bridesmaids was the best part.

Posted by Okay book on September 30, 2008 at 7:05 PM

Another lady in the 'ney' category. Too superficial and contrived. I cry when I watch gymnastics, but even her story about getting repeatedly locked out of her apartment didn't evoke sympathy or a cackle from me.

Posted by Dahlia on September 30, 2008 at 7:56 PM

She is a very mediocre writer. From the interviews I've seen and read she is also a very mediocre person. A vapid and self-righteous publicist with more influence and ambition then talent. It is a decent book list though...just completely unsurprising and market-tested to be of interest to hipster bibliophiles.

Posted by DENVEROPOLIS on September 30, 2008 at 8:01 PM

I liked it in the beginning, but it wore thing pretty quickly. And i actually stopped reading Michael Ian Black's book. Possibly because the bar for him is much higher in my opinion. And he never even approached it.

Posted by c on September 30, 2008 at 8:02 PM

is "nontheless" a word?

Posted by jameyb on September 30, 2008 at 8:15 PM

I read the whole thing, but only to fall asleep at night, and only because my spouse had gotten it from the library.

Posted by It's Mark Mitchell on October 1, 2008 at 8:11 AM