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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 814.6
EAN: 9781594483066
ISBN: 159448306X
Label: Riverhead Trade
Manufacturer: Riverhead Trade
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: April 01, 2008
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Studio: Riverhead Trade
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
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.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
I bought this book after seeing it as a "must read for every twenty-something" in my local bookstore. After reading the first two sentences I was hooked. Instantly. Crosley is hilarious, her writing is candid and visceral, and her stories are intriguing. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Rating:  -
This book is just awful. Yes, it is "well written" - clear descriptions, vivid characters - but the content is nothing less than horrifying. I read this book because I live in the area where many of the stories take place. I am embarrassed for the author. I think she just does not know any better, but her stories are crass and cruel. She tears apart the wedding of a "friend" of hers with no apology for her meanness. Don't expect clever observations or sweet memories in this book - just trashy recollections of a selfish, poorly raised young lady. She went for an interview - and got a job on September 12, 2001 IN NEW YORK CITY and defends herself by saying that "we didn't know until later how bad things were"! I am sure she is being truthful here. In Ms. Crosley's selfish world, the deaths of over 3,000 people in your own city would be meaningless as long as her life was not disrupted. As I read the book I wondered how the heck a publisher ever agreed to print this. I can only conclude that it must have been a favor owed to the author's family. Sad. There are so many wonderful authors writing creative stories about their lives, this stuff is just garbage (glad I borrowed it from the library instead of adding to the books' sales numbers!) Please do not compare this author to the imaginative folks named in other reviews (I don't even want to put their names in a review about Sloane Crosley) who write warm, loving and humorous tales about their lives....
Rating:  -
I Was Told There'd Be Cake, by Sloane Crosley, is a collection of (15) essays about the author, and read by the author. The reason I selected this audio book was because the style was compared to David Sedaris, who I've enjoyed in the past.
These essays center around such themes as coming of age and careers. The first few essays did have me chuckling, especially: The Pony Problem (Sloane has a plastic pony obsession, and keeps the ponies under the sink at her first apartment), Sign Language for Infidels (Sloane volunteers at a Butterfly exhibit at the New York Museum of Natural History), and Christmas in July (Sloane's family is Jewish and she attends a Christian summer camp, and is fascinated by what she has learned).
As humorous as the above essays were, I just could not connect with the author. I was expecting a female version of Sedaris' humor, and this was not the case. I admit to skipping several of the stories as after a while, I no longer found any humor. Personally, I think this audio book might appeal more to a twenty-something reader. YOU BE THE JUDGE!
Rating: -
I decided to give this book a shot since it got some pretty good reviews. I was disappointed. This book is not funny and I kept waiting for something/anything funny to happen and nothing. I got to about page 100 and decided Sloane's time was up, she needed to get the boot and quick.
Her essays have nothing to them. No sarcasm, no humor, nothing. I don't get where she was trying to be funny??
Rating:  -
Some reviewers have not given this book its dues. I read through all of the reviews and thought twice about buying it. I took a chance and am SO glad I did. This girl is really funny. I am a lover of witty essays about life and its sometimes bizarre situations. I laughed all the way through this book and want to be the author's new best friend. Don't think twice and waist time like I did...grab itup!
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