The Misfortunes of Others

March 1, 1993
``You're pregnant, aren't you?'' Maya Woodruff's peripatetic brother Snooky, calling collect from the French Antilles, makes this psychic diagnosis and instantly flies to Connecticut to offer a stuffed platypus, good cheer and gourmet cooking for the last seven months of his sister's ordeal. Her devoted, grumpy bear of a husband, Bernard, suffering his own labor pains from trying to deliver his latest children's book, is torn between his habitual hatred of all guests and his happy deliverance from the kitchen. (His coq au beer was not well received.) The misery of Maya's pregnancy, which makes the gestation of Rosemary's Baby look like a piece of cake, is compounded when her old friend Weezy becomes the target of an anonymous hate campaign by phone and mail. But Snooky takes charge with his usual endearing insouciance (not neglecting to fall madly in love along the way). It's great fun to have Bernard and Snooky , seen before in Friends Till the End , enlivening the sleuthing scene--this one without a homicide--again. Illustrations not seen by PW.

March 1, 1993
Dank's fourth book in the Snooky and Bernard series is as frothy and effervescent as a glass of champagne (and just about as substantial). Bernard is a lugubrious, bearlike (but kind and thoughtful) children's author who's married to Snooky's sister, Maya. Maya's expecting her first child, and her primary activities are throwing up, sleeping, eating celery, and throwing up. Snooky is a happy-go-lucky ne'er-do-well who happens to be a gourmet cook, a witty raconteur, and a concerned uncle-to-be. Then there's Weezy, Maya's dearest friend, who's an artist and the latest apple of Snooky's eye. The rather dismal mystery plot here revolves around Weezy, who's received a series of threatening phone calls and had her art studio trashed. But who cares about the mystery? The charm in this breezy little concoction comes from the sparkling repartee, the oodles of quirky characters (none of whom seem to have normal names), and the oh-so-dry humor. If Noel Coward had written mysteries, they'd read a lot like this one: light but entertaining. ((Reviewed Mar. 1, 1993))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1993, American Library Association.)