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Guests | December 7, 2009

Theodore Gray: IMG The Cornucopia of Home Science

1 comment By Theodore Gray

Reading old books of science experiments for children, it's easy to become nostalgic for the days when you could buy jugs of sulfur and mercury at... Continue »
  1. $20.96 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe

    Theodore Gray

I Was Told There'd Be Cake

by Sloane Crosley

I Was Told There'd Be Cake Cover

ISBN13: 9781594483066
ISBN10: 159448306x
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Wry, hilarious, and profoundly genuine, this debut collection of literary essays is a celebration of fallibility and haplessness in all their glory. From despoiling an exhibit at the Natural History Museum to provoking the ire of her first boss to siccing the cops on her mysterious neighbor, Crosley can do no right despite the best of intentions-or perhaps because of them. Together, these essays create a startlingly funny and revealing portrait of a complex and utterly recognizable character that's aiming for the stars but hits the ceiling, and the inimitable city that has helped shape who she is. I Was Told There'd Be Cake introduces a strikingly original voice, chronicling the struggles and unexpected beauty of modern urban life.

Review:

"A refreshing, original reflection on modern life." School Library Journal

Review:

"Witty and entertaining." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"Charming, elegant, wise, and comedic, these essays absolutely sparkle and entertain. Sloane Crosley is a 21st century Dorothy Parker, and this book is a gem and heralds a wry new voice in American letters. Gorgeous writing, outrageous humor-it's all here!" Jonathan Ames, author of Wake Up, Sir!

Review:

"Sloane Crosley is another mordant and mercurial wit from the realm of Sedaris and Vowell. What makes her so funny is that she seems to be telling the truth, helplessly." Jonathan Lethem, author of The Fortress of Solitude

Review:

"Sloane Crosley is her own woman with her own voice, and as evidenced by this solid debut." Hartford Courant

Review:

"Crosley's tone and style definitely take a page out of humor-writer David Sedaris' book. She's ironic, droll and self-pillorying and, like Sedaris, she manages to balance passages that are laugh-out-loud funny with others that are both touching and resonant." Seattle Times

Review:

"With her sparkling, fresh voice, Crosley is a talent worth watching." Christian Science Monitor

Review:

"Butterflies, crazy neighbors, abusive bosses and overworked locksmiths — none are safe from Sloane Crosley's wicked wit." Miami Herald
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About the Author

Sloane Crosley's essays and criticism have appeared in The New York Times, New York Observer, the Village Voice, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Salon, Black Book, Radar, Maxim, and The Believer. She is also the Associate Director of Publicity at Vintage/Anchor Books in New York.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 4 comments:
titianlibrarian, October 23, 2008 (view all comments by titianlibrarian)
It's hard to find good thought-provoking essays these days, but I'm certainly not the first to come to this conclusion. Cristina Nehring's essay in August's Utne magazine, entitled "Why Essays are so Damned Boring," doesn't delve too far below the surface of this phenomenon, but her reasoning makes perfect sense. Basically, she says that essayists today are turning out (and editors are only printing) self-involved meditations on minor choices in life. The dramatic questions, the large-as-life issues are being passed over in favor of the documentation of small incidents (like a quiet evening spent at home). It's safer to print the petty things, it's easier to write about petty things and with Americans' shortened attention span, a quick essay recapping one's day is faster reading than an in-depth essay on the meaning of life.

I like Sloane Crosley. I like the language she uses and the way she can twist words slyly to fit her needs. I think she will mature into an excellent novelist or science writer. She can capture feelings and explain theories clearly and with a light touch. For example, regarding volunteerism: "Of course I had considered volunteering. I think that once you know what something is, you have considered it. I'm far too solipsistic not to apply myself to every scenario that crosses my path. I remember the day I found out what an enema was, what spelunking was, that Asian women plucked their underarm hair, that the Golden Gate Bridge was an iconic springboard for suicides. I immediately considered jumping off it" (117).

Unfortunately, in this collection all you can see is her harmless self-absorption and her shallow magazine-styled way of writing that has served her well in her career. I struggled to finish this, putting it down for weeks between essays.
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Cedate, September 3, 2008 (view all comments by Cedate)
Laugh out loud funny! I can't wait to hear more from Sloane Crosley.
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melie, August 14, 2008 (view all comments by melie)
This book was absolutely charming and a delight to read. Even at such a young age, Sloane looks back on the oddities of her semi-normal childhood in a New England suburb (especially when her mother gave her "the talk.") Every bit funny from the title (I have had similar thoughts when going to parties) to the very last paragraph. Highly recommended to all.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9781594483066
Author:
Crosley, Sloane
Publisher:
Riverhead Books
Subject:
Form - Essays
Subject:
Essays
Publication Date:
April 2008
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
230
Dimensions:
7.96x5.14x.64 in. .42 lbs.
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