"I Was Told There'd Be Cake: Essays"

Sloane Crosley has been compared to Dorothy Parker, David Sedaris, and Sarah Vowell; I think these are overstatements, especially regarding the first two (I don't particularly enjoy Vowell's work). In her first book, "I Was Told There'd Be Cake: Essays" (Riverhead, 2008), now in paperback, Crosley tells mostly humorous, somewhat sarcastic, somewhat painful, mostly entertaining stories of her life. Some take place in her childhood and teenage years, but most are set in her twenties and early thirties in Manhattan. My daughter, who is in her mid-20s and lived and worked in Manhattan for a couple of years (actually only three blocks from where Crosley lived) found the stories intermittently insightful and funny, but overall not funny and engaging enough. I just finished reading the book, a very quick read, and agree with my daughter's appraisal.