People often come to me seeking the true meaning of life, but I find they are usually satisfied with half a sandwich.
Truth in 280 characters, it’s so refreshing that the Twitter phenomenon known only as Anonymous garnered over a quarter of a million followers in eight years. A modern-day Dorothy Parker with a Dame Judi Dench demeanor, Duchess Goldblatt of Crooked Path, NY—a self-styled octogenarian literary giant with such blockbusters as An Axe to Grind and the mother/daughter meditation Not If I Kill You First—is one wise and witty woman. If only I could invite her to tea, I imagine I’d have a new BFF. But alas, this genteel and surreal cheerleader to the world is a fictional character, a self-help distraction born of depression in the wake of a bitter divorce.
Casting about for a way to lift her spirits, the mysterious author found her inner advice columnist mischievously quipping about everything from time [When people say they are going to make time for you, it’s instant time from a mix] to hopes and dreams [Cracking the window an inch and leaving them in the car while you run errands will not work], and making celebrity friends along the way. Prime among these is her favorite performer, Lyle Lovett, whose easy banter offers a gentle diversion from Gabra Zackman’s smart narration in the five-and-a-half hour word fest that is my new favorite listen on Audible. Although I have not flipped through the 240 pages of this NYT Books to Read in 2020, I feel sure I could knock it out in a weekend between folding loads of laundry.