Straight Up and Dirty: A Memoir

One month after discovering her husband was having an affair, 20-something Klein made him her ""Wasbund"" and started trying to find a man to date again-or better, a ""pair and a spare,"" as her telephone therapist advised. She ""rodated"" desperately, searching for someone to repair her wounded ego. She even found a reasonably suitable boyfriend-only she broke it off when he suggested living together. At one point she faced the truth she'd avoided from the beginning, that she had to learn to appreciate herself for her own accomplishments before she could have a healthy relationship with a man. While there's nothing new about that story line-indeed, it's curiously proto-feminist for a recent Barnard grad-Klein's sense of humor is downright wicked. Her ex-mother-in-law was a ""shrub of a woman"" who ""sounded like she'd swallowed a southerner"" and looked ""like a transvestite who had a one-night stand with a disco ball."" Then there's ""Mr. Madras Pants,"" who ""carried a degree in poplin with a minor in seersucker... the type of man who was at complete ease when sending his order back to the kitchen."" In the end, Klein's is a great, fun read.