cover image The Book of Sequels, Volume 11

The Book of Sequels, Volume 11

Christopher Cerf. Random House (NY), $16.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-679-73297-6

The many lame or sophomoric duds are more than compensated for by the killer squibs in this collection of parodies, spoofs and send-ups concocted by Beard ( Miss Piggy's Guide to Life ), Cerf ( Not the New York Times ), comedian Durkee and Kelly ( Not the Bible ). Among the gems are ``The Lighter Side of Sylvia Plath,'' ``Two Cities II'' (``It was the best of guillotines, it was the worst of guillotines''), ``The One Bullet Manager: Management Secrets of the Khmer Rouge'' and George Bush's presidential villanelle ``Go Kindly and Gently into That Good Night'' (a la Dylan Thomas), addressed to the underclass, pro-choice groups and homosexuals. Several wickedly clever pieces deflate literary styles without being laugh-aloud funny (e.g., Salman Rushdie's ``The Satanic Reverses''). Nothing is sacred, as proven by the ``sequel'' to Antoine de Saint-Exupery's tale, ``The Big Fat Balding Prince,'' and satires on Robert Frost, Joyce Carol Oates, Moby Dick , etc. Visual gags--in 50 color and black-and-white illustrations--mock easily recognizable movie frames or book jackets (Whitley Strieber, Oliver Sachs). (Dec.)