Sex and Death to the Age 14
The five stories in this volume developed out of the author's work in avant-garde theater, in which he is renowned for conducting extemporaneous interviews with his audience and delivering monologues about growing up in New England. The provocative title promises to deliver insights about common experiences which, the reader expects, will be refracted through the nimble imagination of the narrator (Spalding Gray himself). However, the stories are not thought-provoking. Incidents are not tied togetherindeed, the abrupt breaks in the narrative are irritatingand the stories themselves are related only in that they recount the narrator's experiences. Finally, the self-absorption of the author is boring and distances the reader from the material. Not recommended. Michael J. Esposito, formerly with Special Libs. Assn., Washington, D.C.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.