Selected Product:
| I Was Told There'd Be Cake
Paperback
Author: Sloane Crosley
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Release Date: 2008-04-01
ISBN-10: 159448306X
ISBN-13: 9781594483066
List Price: $14.00
Average Customer Rating:
   | |
When You Are Engulfed in Flames
ISBN-10: 0316143472
ISBN-13: 9780316143479
List Price:$25.99
Unaccustomed Earth
ISBN-10: 0307265730
ISBN-13: 9780307265739
List Price:$25.00
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
ISBN-10: 1416954120
ISBN-13: 9781416954125
List Price:$24.95
My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands
ISBN-10: 1582346186
ISBN-13: 9781582346182
List Price:$14.95
A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father
ISBN-10: 0312342020
ISBN-13: 9780312342029
List Price:$24.95
|
To use our price comparison to get the cheapest price, please click on the "Find the Cheapest Price" button located above for I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley (ISBN-10: 159448306X, ISBN-13: 9781594483066).
At this time we have not yet written a review for I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley (ISBN-10: 159448306X, ISBN-13: 9781594483066). Please continue to keep checking back to this page as we are constantly adding reviews.
Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
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.
laugh-out-loud humor that hits close to the heart
| Customer Rating: | "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" is a collection of essays by Sloane Crosley. She touches on every subject from childhood obsessions with Oregon Trail to the horrendous experience of moving in Manhattan and just about everything (including the kitchen sink).
She can take the simplest of experiences and turn them into an experience that will leave you rolling on the ground, laughing until you cry. She discusses topics that most people are hesitant to confront and turns it into a situation you can laugh about. Her voice is sarcastic enough to make you chuckle but not sardonic enough to be considered cruel. Most importantly, she writes about things we can relate to.
As you read, you find yourself agreeing with the things Sloane says. We've all had some experiences similar to the ones she writes about. Maybe we don't all keep toy ponies from ex-boyfriends under our kitchen sinks, but we've all been locked out of our house or attempted to bake. When you can relate to things, then they're that much funnier and they really make themselves a place in your heart.
Sloane has a great voice; it's unique but not totally out there. She's quirky and almost poetic with her words and storytelling technique. It's like she's talking to you, and she just seems like one of those people you'd want to be friends with. This chumminess also tightens the bond between you and the author. Crosley delves deep in to the human emotion with the simple tales and tickles your funny bone while she's at it.
I highly recommend this book, and I guarantee you'll love it just as much, if not more than I did. |
Hee hee Not!
| Customer Rating: | | This book had a catchy title that was a reason I was drawn to it other than that it doesn't have much going for it. It started out a little funny with "the Pony Problem" and I could definitely relate to the Oregon Trail references. After a while I lost interest because the writing wasn't that great and she was not that funny. I began to role my eyes at her pretentiousness then I just had to put the book down. I don't understand how she got such rave reviews for this debut. |
Funny slice of life book of essays
| Customer Rating: | I loved this book and found much to laugh at in a familiar sort of way, especially the author's essay pondering what her loved ones would think about when they found her dirty apartment, the bed unmade, weeks of laundry piled up everywhere, after her untimely death, either during 911 or in some other random urban event, like being caught in the crossfire of a robber holding up a convenience store, and you're just standing there in the path of a bullet, a poor schmuck holding your carton of cigarettes in one hand and your ATM card in the other, waiting your turn in line at the cash register.
Some have criticized the author for her self-absorbed perspective, but this is the truth: most of us live our lives this way. We view large events - 9/11, for instance, from our own point of view. I recall being haunted for years at the falling bodies, wondering what/how I would feel if that was me. I also briefly thought about what my friends and relatives would think and say when they came to pack up my apartment after my untimely death and they went through all of my personal belongings.
These musings are unique to urban America. Any reader who lives in the comfy burbs won't be able to comprehend the true meaning of the word bodega. There is no English equivalent, and much of the value and wit of this book will be lost on many readers who just don't get the inside joke. |
Generally amusing
| Customer Rating: | | My job is verrrrry slow in the winter months, so needless to say I stand around for hours at a time. This book was a rather quick read but it saved me from my impending boredom for at least a few days. Like other reviewers have stated, not everyone can relate to what she writes about. I can't imagine anyone over 35 or male for that matter, getting much enjoyment from this book. Sometimes the content was a little scary, I almost felt like I had a long lost twin sister in NYC. Though some of her annoyances were silly and petty, I found this to be an accurate portrayal of an average 20-something's thought process. |
I expected more
| Customer Rating: | | I just thought this would be a lot more witty. I guess I was just expecting more. |
|
