Book review: Carol Leifer doesn't 'lie'

May 13, 7:54 AMSeattle Books ExaminerDanielle Dreger-Babbitt

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It is fairly common knowledge that I enjoy a good book of essays, especially humorous ones.  Give me something by Laurie Nataro or Chelsea Handler or Michael Ian Black or Sloane Crosely and I am a happy girl.  If I were a literary junkie, these books would be my drug of choice.  They are the perfect pick-me-up.

I've been hearing a lot about stand-up comedian Carol Leifer's biographical essays When You Lie About Your Age, the Terrorists Win:  Reflections on Looking in the Mirror for awhile now.  With a title like that, you can't help but think that the book would be absolutely hilarious, especially if it is coming from a woman who is an Emmy-nominated  writer and producer for shows television shows like Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show, and Saturday Night LIve.  Unfortunately, it's not.

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't funny, (or honest) after all some of Leifer's essays made me laugh out loud.  In the essay, "Two by Two Sarts with One by One," Leifer reflects on the fact that she came to be an animal person by default after falling in love with someone who already shared their bed with a dog and two cats.  She writes an open letter to fellow motorits in "Shhh!  I'm Driving" begging them to rip off their obnoxious bumper stickers, especially those who still have stickers urging people to vote Gore/ Lieberman and Kerry/Edwards.  My favorite essay in the book is "The I in Team" where she states, "white lies are like the packing peanuts of any relationship," and "when your partner who has someone 'dead' to them, then they gotta be dead to you, too."

For the most part, though, her humor falls flat on me.  Essays like "40 Things I know at 50 (Because 50 is th New 40)" and "A Dozen Things Men Should Know (but Most Don't)" and "So Long, Friend," where Leifer bids farewell to periods and an unwelcome hello to menopause.  Perhaps the reason I don't find many of her essays funny is because I'm not her domographic, but that really doesn't make sense.  There are plenty of humor writers of the same vein like Cynthia Kaplan, who I get completely.  Could it just be that Leifer is funny,just not 190 pages funny?

I'd love to hear someone else's take on this.  Have you read it?  What did you think?