book 68

calvin trillin's american stories
this collection of some of trillin's new yorker pieces from the mid-80s does capture his unique, dry humor, but also highlights his more serious side as a writer. the essays range in topic from ben and jerry's battle against haagen-dazs to a small-town sexual-abuse-related murder to a duke student's tragic death in china. of course, some of these stories seem pretty dated (especially the ben and jerry's one), but trillin's skill still makes reading them worthwhile. i think this book is out of print (i picked up my copy at nightlight), so feel free to borrow it from me! or you can get his new book of dubya-related humorous poetry, and let me know how that is.