The much beloved star of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
delivers less than his best in his third work of fiction (after The Woman Who Wouldn’t
), a collection of 12 forgettable stories. Wilder dedicates the book to his late cousin Buddy Silberman, whose romantic adventures are fictionalized in “The Birthday,” “My Old Flame,” and “The Hollywood Producer.” Each of Wilder’s stories sketches an infatuation or love affair, and many seem to channel the winsome, golly-gee quality of television from a more innocent era, in which it might have been conceivable for a sexually inexperienced, “tortuously” bashful 21-year-old to lament, “I wish I wasn’t such a shy nincompoop.” Dialogue is voiced at an unvarying pitch, and characters feel generic, while sexual encounters are described so blandly and awkwardly as to make one cringe. But readers seeking a little treacle may find a saving grace in the book’s humble aspirations to give “a little pleasure and a laugh.” (Mar.)
