cover image Nice Guys Sleep Alone

Nice Guys Sleep Alone

Harvey Fierstein, Bruce Feirstein. Dell Publishing Company, $5.95 (148pp) ISBN 978-0-440-56428-7

The author of Real Men Don't Eat Quiche, Feirstein here takes a satirical look at the modern dating game. Representative of the better pieces is the ""North American Field Spotter's Guide to Dating Classifications,'' which notes characteristics of, for example, the ``Walking Wounded (Stage One).'' These are creatures who ``pour their hearts out, spending six hours telling you how badly their last girlfriend (or boyfriend) treated themand then, as the air slowly disappears from the room, they'll announce, `But that's all in the past. Do you want to go to bed?' '' Feirstein also updates popular books and movies for the 1980s. (``Gone with the Wind: Rhett still doesn't give a damn. But it's okay now, because Scarlett has a career.'') However, the illustrations are flat, and there are many rambling fictional stories based on weak premises, such as an interview with Sigmund Freud while he drives his white Cadillac. Altogether this is a mixed bag that has supremely humorous moments. (October)