Eve 2008-03-12

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

These stories were really hit or miss for me. I found some of the stories hard to get through, and others I absolutely loved (The Best of Betty, Under the Bed, Mr. Lazenbee). The humor is clever and at times quite grim. I enjoyed about half of the stories so much that I may return to the book at some point and give the other half a second shot.

Just_Karen 2007-11-28

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

My favorite short story writers are Alice Munro, Lorrie Moore, Amy Bloom and Flannery O'Connor, if that helps you place my taste on the spectrum of what's out there. People looking for the comedy of bleak sarcasm, the kind that leaves you wincing as you laugh (Sedaris, Burroughs), will only be able to find some of that here, but not a lot of it. This is a book about the connections between people, how strange and errant love is. Everyone is quite realistic and human, and there's none of that tied-up-in-a-tidy-bow feeling I get from too many short stories. These stories rely on intelligence rather than cleverness. This collection actually brings something new, fresh and just a little STRANGE to the short story reader; not strange in the sense of bizarre (like Aimee Bender) or parodic (like George Saunders). It's strange in its depth and compassion. Maybe the best way to say it is that each story, no matter how short or ambiguous, is as fully realized as a novel. That's hard to find.

Douglas King 2007-02-20

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Having an endorsement by the hilarious David Sedaris at the top of this book may have been misleading, because this book is not full of the same kind of absurd outrageousness that makes his books such a riot. There is humor in this collection of stories, but overall this book is more of a bittersweet series of character studies of modern people whose lives often take unexpected turns. What I loved about the book is that none of the stories were formulaic or trite at all. The characters all seemed so real and human, full of complicated and conflicting emotions and desires. Some of my favorites included the advice columnist who transforms her corny column into a postmodern confessional, the confused little girl whose therapist father is too quick to label a sociopath, the rape victim who refuses to have a meltdown, and the rich bachelor who falls in love with a uniquely awkward secretary, only to lose her when her new status turns her into a typical society wife. The author treats her characters like sympathetic friends, who she both admires and pities for all their strengths and flaws.

Amy Williams 2005-05-30

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

I agree completely with D.Tjoa's review. I bought it because of Amazon's 'If you like David Sedaris,...', but this is not humor writing. Short stories yes, but if there is humor it is very dark and I couldn't find it. Even irony would have been acceptable... I'll define it as odd and mostly depressing.

D. Tjoa 2005-04-10

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1. I agree with the other reviews for this book that the "funny" label slapped all over this book is misleading. It's dark tragicomedy.

2. There are definitely some pieces I enjoyed like Best of Betty and Resume. And I enjoyed the way this author describes things. But as far as the content of most of the stories, it felt like a bunch of really well-written but intensely disconnected sketches. There were many times I got to the end of a story and asked, what in the hell was that? What was the point? I don't get it (and yes, I **get** things -- no reviewer should insult other readers who don't like a certain kind of book). Apparently this book speaks to some people but if you like your philosophical fiction in comprehensible format, this book is not for you. I enjoy artistry but not obfuscation. It reminds me of a friend who says really deep things and is so in his own world, and I can tell he's saying something really deep but he's speaking so nebulously that I just don't get it. And I get frustrated and tell him to be clearer and repeat back what I think I'm hearing him say until he confirms that's what he meant. That's what this book is like. Father of Invention...what was that about? It feels like someone trying too hard...like performance art on paper.

3. I will add the disclaimer that I prefer more "storytelling" narrations like the Red Tent by Anita Diamant; She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb; Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs; Life of Pi by Yann Martel; God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Vonnegut. John Irving. So maybe this book just isn't for me. Just warning people that it may not be for you either if you prefer traditional stories to sketches.