Microthrills: True Stories from a Life of Small Highs: Wendy Spiro

Wendy Spero is yet another bright young woman who has written an autobiographical account of the absurdities of life in Manhattan. If you loved The Nanny Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada, stop reading now and go buy microthrills. Seriously, stop reading. You won't like the rest of my review.

For the rest of you: Wendy Spero is an eloquent, evocative writer. Unfortunately, she focuses all that talent on... herself. The result is a collection of anecdotes about her assorted neuroses, sexual awakening and remarkable self-centeredness, from childhood to now.

The chapter dealing with her grandparents is one of the most telling. They are both fascinating personalities whose story could easily fill an entire book, but Spero has only a few pages at the end to focus on anything past their effect on her life. When she does finally shift her perspective, her writing really shines. Pity it seems like an afterthought.

As an adaptation of the stage-show/comedy routine she performs in L.A., microthrills is basically a chick-lit bathroom reader -- lots of fun in small doses. Keep an eye out for Spero's sophomore effort, though; she has the talent if she can just find a worthy subject.
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Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Hudson Street Press (August 3, 2006)
ISBN-10: 1594630194
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