I Was Told There'd Be Cake

Hailed by David Sedaris as "perfectly, relentlessly funny" and by Colson Whitehead as "sardonic without being cruel, tender without being sentimental," from the author of the new collection Look Alive Out There.

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 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.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Published: 04/01/2008
ISBN: 9781594483066
Pages: 230
Weight: 0.42lbs
Size: 7.96h x 5.14w x 0.64d
Award: Thurber Prize for American Humor - Finalist

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 11/26/2007 pg. 36
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2008 pg. 21
Kirkus Best Books 01/15/2008 pg. 3
Library Journal 02/15/2008 pg. 104
Booklist 03/01/2008 pg. 43
Entertainment Weekly 04/04/2008 pg. 65
People Weekly 04/21/2008 pg. 58
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001
Entertainment Weekly 05/18/2012 pg. 78