I Was Told There’d Be Cake
Sloane Crosley, . . Riverhead, $14 (230pp) ISBN 978-1-59448-306-6
This debut essay collection is full of sardonic wit and charm, and Crosley effortlessly transforms what could have been stereotypical tales of mid-20s life into a breezy series of vignettes with uproariously unpredictable outcomes. From the opening “The Pony Problem†to the hilarious “Bring-Your-Machete-to-Work Day†(which will ring true for any child of the early 1990s who played the first Oregon Trail computer game), Crosley is equal parts self-deprecating and endearing as she recounts her secret obsession with plastic ponies and the joys of exacting revenge via a pixilated wagon ride. In less capable hands, the subjects tackled—from unpleasant weddings of long-forgotten friends to horrendous first jobs—could have been a litany of complaints from yet another rich girl from the suburbs. But Crosley, who grew up in Westchester and currently lives in Manhattan, makes the experiences her own with a plethora of amusing twists: a volunteer job at the American Museum of Natural History leads to a moral quandary, and a simple Upper West Side move becomes anything but. Fans of Sarah Vowell’s razor-sharp tongue will love this original new voice.
Reviewed on: 11/26/2007
Genre: Nonfiction
Compact Disc - 6 pages - 978-0-14-314399-4
Downloadable Audio - 978-1-101-19461-4
Open Ebook - 240 pages - 978-1-101-14747-4
Open Ebook - 240 pages - 978-1-4362-0711-9
Other - 240 pages - 978-1-84627-465-7
Peanut Press/Palm Reader - 240 pages - 978-1-4362-0712-6