I agree with a previous reviewer in that Sedaris's latest book is darker than his others--which by no means worsens it; no it only adds to it. I was often remnded of the work of McCrae (think his "Children's Corner" with its mixtre of hilarity and darkness.) Many of the pieces in "Dress Your Family" have to do with the author's family; either humorous childhood tales or present-day musings on the sibling's often tense and awkward relationships. There are, however, a few stories about Sedaris's exploits in rural France with his artner Hugh. Overall, a great read, as are all of Sedaris's boks. Also try the McCrae book for an interesting perspective on the human condition or lack thereof.

Of the three books our book club recently read, CHARLOTTE SIMMONS was the biggest hit. The other two were Roth's THE PLOT and McCrae's CHILDREN'S CORNER. While we loved all of these, something about CHARLOTTE hit a nerve--possibly because the majority of our members are recent graduates. I AM CHARLOTTE SIMMONS takes second place to BONFIRES but is a fun spoof and may be worth sharing with your high-school senior sometimes before freshman orientation. Charlotte has been given the immense gift of fleeing her poor rural life and living amongst contemporary geniuses. What she assumes will be discussion groups on phlosophy and science is, in fact, a campus of frat parties and hooking up. Wolfe interweaves several stories at once. The aspiring nerd journalist, Adam Gelllin, who is hopelessly in love with Charlotte, but never quite gets his fantasies realized, is a great character. Then there's Hoyt Thore, the air headed frat boy who sees in himself the world's macho Jojo Johannson, the athlete in whom Charlotte accidentally sparks a desire to learn. This was just a fun romp and I would highly recommend it along with Roth's book and the McCrae also.

THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY is the parallel story of Chicago's preparation to host the Worlds' Fair in 1893, and the story of a psychopathic serial killer living at the same time and in the same place. The writing is good, the history fascinating. Like some wild concoction of E.L. Doctorow and C.t. Boyle, this ribald, free-flowing festoonery of Victorianism and magic is bound to keep you flpping its many pages. Would also recommend the much shorter but equaly as good CHILDREN'S CORNER by Jacson McCrae--excellently crafted stories dealing with everything from A to Z.

The latest effort, THE SUNDAY PHILOSOPHY CLUB, from best-selling author, Smith, is a great addition to his canon. The premise is as good as anything else you'll find in a boostore, and the execution is ingenious. An editor for a hilosophical journal, Isabel Dalhousie spends a lot fo time thinking about thorny issues like truth, morality,and social responsibility. And she also likes to try and solve problems, especially the problems of people she knows--even the ones of people she barely knows. One evening, Isabel is attending a performance by the Reykjavik Symphony in Usher Hall, when a man suddenly tumbles down from the top tier to his death. Isabel is traumatized by this unexpected tragedy and she resolves to find out if the victim, Mark Fraser, was pushed or fell accidentally. I found the character of Isabel Dalhousie intriguing and refreshing. Look for this stellar book to keep its place on the best-seller list. I also very much enjoyed a new title called THE CHILDREN'S CORNER by Jackson McCrae--it's a collection of stories about types of loss--personal, physical, emotional, and not a book for children. Highly recommendced along with SUNDAY.