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I Was Told There'd Be Cake: Essays
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I Was Told There'd Be Cake: Essays Paperback - 2008

by Sloane Crosley

  • Used

Wry, hilarious, and profoundly genuine, this debut collection of literary essays is a celebration of fallibility and haplessness in all their glory. Crosby's strikingly original voice chronicles the struggles and unexpected beauty of modern urban life.

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Riverhead Books. Used - Good. A sound copy with only light wear. Overall a solid copy at a great price!
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Details

  • Title I Was Told There'd Be Cake: Essays
  • Author Sloane Crosley
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition First Edition
  • Condition Used - Good
  • Pages 240
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Riverhead Books, New York
  • Date 2008-04-01
  • Features Table of Contents
  • Bookseller's Inventory # WAL-F-4g-001220
  • ISBN 9781594483066 / 159448306X
  • Weight 0.42 lbs (0.19 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.96 x 5.14 x 0.64 in (20.22 x 13.06 x 1.63 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Library of Congress subjects Essays, American essays - 21st century
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2007033228
  • Dewey Decimal Code 814.6

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Summary

Wry, hilarious, and profoundly genuine, this debut collection of literary essays from Sloane Crosley 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 who aims 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.

Sloane Crosley is also the author of How Did You Get This Number.
 

From the publisher

Sloane Crosley is the author of the bestsellers How Did You Get This Number and I Was Told There'd Be Cake, which was a finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor. Her 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 lives in New York City.

Categories

Media reviews

“Whether you’re involved in a love/hate relationship with just yourself or with the entire world, these essays will charm the pants off you—but not so as you’ll feel violated. Sloane Crosley is bright and funny and enchanting. This is a sparkling debut.”
—Meghan Daum, author of My Misspent Youth and The Quality of Life Report

  “Hilarious and affecting and only occasionally scatological, I Was Told There’d Be Cake is lively reminiscence about growing up strange. Sardonic without being cruel, tender without being sentimental, Sloane Crosley will win you over with this delightful debut.”
—Colson Whitehead, author of Apex Hides the Hurt

“I love Sloane Crosley. In I Was Told There’d Be Cake, she navigates the social, the moral, the romantic experiences that prompt her to create her own voice and freshly define the world around her. Crosley is a post-modern Mary Tyler Moore, and this book is wry, generous, knowing—a perfect document of what it is to be young in today’s world.”
—A.M. Homes, author of This Book Will Save Your Life and The Mistress’ Daughter

  “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 and Motherless Brooklyn

“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!

Citations

  • Booklist, 03/01/2008, Page 43
  • Entertainment Weekly, 04/04/2008, Page 65
  • Kirkus Best Books, 01/15/2008, Page 3
  • Kirkus Reviews, 01/01/2008, Page 21
  • Library Journal, 02/15/2008, Page 104
  • People Weekly, 04/21/2008, Page 58
  • Publishers Weekly, 11/26/2007, Page 36
  • Shelf Awareness, 01/01/0001, Page 0

About the author

Sloane Crosley is the author of the new collection Look Alive Out There, the novel The Clasp, and the bestselling essay collections How Did You Get This Number and I Was Told There'd Be Cake, which was a finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor. Her 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 lives in New York City.

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