SOCIAL SCIENCES

How To Be a Person in the World: Ask Polly's Guide Through the Paradoxes of Modern Life

by Heather Havrilesky
Doubleday. Jul. 2016. 272p. ISBN 9780385540391. $25.95; ebk. ISBN 9780385540407. SELF-HELP
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Havrilesky (aka Aunt Polly, nymag.com; Disaster Preparedness) collects some of her fan favorites and never-published pieces of advice that take on universal issues such as a chronically unemployed boyfriend, the ennui of being nice, and the guilt of having an affair. However, both the questions and answers the author provides seem to pander to an audience that is as much interested in the cleverness of the response as they are in the topics. Havrilesky's writing is sound, yet, as noted in the New York Times Book Review, it takes a bit of reading to get to the essence.
VERDICT Perfect for advice seekers who are also looking for solutions laced with touches of snark, humor, and a willingness to "get" all sides of the subject.
Reviewed by Deborah Bigelow , May 01, 2016
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