Why I'm Like This - by Cynthia Kaplan (Paperback)

About the Book

Comprised of 21 autobiographical tales, "Why I'm Like This" begins with a hilarious send-up of Kaplan's last year at "Queechy Lake Camp" and ends with a tour-de-force about the cruelly unfufilled life of the truffle pig.

From the Back Cover

Cynthia Kaplan takes us on a hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking journey through her unique, uncensored world--her bungled romantic encounters and unsung theatrical experiences; her gadget-obsessed father, her pill-popping therapist, and her eccentric grandmothers; her fearless husband, whom she engages in an ongoing battle over which of them is the most popular person in their apartment; and, of course, her vengeful, power-hungry one-year-old son.

Kaplan's voice is a lot like the one in our heads--the one that most of us are only willing to listen to late at night . . . maybe while locked in a closet. What a relief it is that someone finally admits that she is afraid of nearly everything; that she is jealous even of people whose lives are on the verge of collapse; and that she has, at times, tried to pass for a gentile.

Review Quotes

"With her unique brand of humane observation and wit, her deadpan voice and fearless honesty, Kaplan has writen a book...that will no doubt be passed on, from hand to hand, in family after family by people who recognize some...part of their own history or selves in the stories that she tells." - Beth Kephart, author of A Slant of Sun
"Quick-witted, neatly written and unapologetically grandiose." - New York Times Book Review
"Alternatively hilarious and poignant, these stories make you laugh and then cry." - Boston Globe
"Knee-slapping hilarious...Fans of David Sedaris or Anne Lamott will appreciate (Kaplan's) quirky way of looking at life's intricacies." - USA Today
"One of downtown's coolest actors . . . you'll laugh until you can't breathe." - Time Out New York
"Cynthia Kaplan is very funny. These piece are very, very funny." - Laura Zigman, author of Animal Husbandry and Her
"WHY I'M LIKE THIS is an impressive debut and Kaplan has a wonderfully natural comedic style." - Detroit Free Press
"WHY I'M LIKE THIS is a collection of personal essays that are as funny as they are poignant." - Paper Magazine
"Funny, sweet, weirdly life-affirming and painfully true..." - Jerry Stahl, author of PERMANENT MIDNIGHT and PLAINCLOTHES NAKED
"Cynthia Kaplan's gift is her ability to take on life's absurdities and come out a winner." - Debra Ginsberg, author of WAITING and RAISING BLAZE
"Quick-witted, neatly written and unapologetically grandiose...in the spirit of Dorothy Parker...[Kaplan] renders weird and rowdy scenarios with style." - New York Times Book Review
"This is a charming collection of essays in the spirit of David Sedaris..." - John Searles, The Early Show on CBS
"Kaplan consistently amuses while cutting surprisingly deep." - Booklist
"When Kaplan is funny, she's very funny...Well worth reading." - New Orleans Times-Picayune
"A fresh voice with a bright future." - Kirkus Reviews