It Could Be Worse, You Could Be Me

January 21, 2010
Leve, a columnist for the Sunday Times Magazine, has a bleak vision, sometimes sharply funny (her suggestion that the wedding pages in the New York Times be followed by the "divorces" page), and other times, collapsing into something like real despair ("Every emotional lesson I've ever learned in my life I've forgotten. There's no growth, no inner peace"). Her snappily written essays take on such themes as "Socializing" (she's not a fan), "Personality Defects" (hers: many), and "Health Concerns" (ditto). These are the disjointed musings of a jaundice-eyed Cassandra, best read while you're waiting for the subway that won't come, assuring yourself that it could, indeed, be worse. Especially suited for neurotic New Yorkers and the people who love them.-Tania Barnes, Brooklyn, NY

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2010
Leve, who writes the Cassandra column for the Sunday Times Magazine, offers her signature neurotic personality in this collection of humorous essays of looking on the darker side of life. Based in New York and London, her collection of friends are transcontinental, providing the fodder for all manner of disappointments when they wont jump on her invitation to donate a kidney should she ever need one, or when they pay more attention to the scores of friends collected on Facebook than their close friends. Leve bemoans everything from the cost of therapy to losers to high achievers to failed relationships. She comments on modern manners, real estate, and romantic prospects and considers trends, including women sharing breast-feeding duties, cosmetic surgery, suicide pacts, and advanced bra technology. In a running commentary on the doomed love life of her friendsand her own (shes in her forties and unmarried)she ponders online dating services, phone sex, and e-mail personae. Declaring that worrying is my yoga, Leve offers a sardonic look at modern life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)