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| December 29, 2005 |
REVIEW: The Bubbelah Factor
Getting advice from your friends is always good. Getting advice from your parents is also good, for the most part. However, your parents are apt to say, "See, we told you so," after you tell them how that really hot Emory girl dumped you more than your friends. Getting advised by your grandmother-no matter how dear she to you she may be-can be excruciating. "What happened to that nice girl, Cindy?," my own bubbe asked me before she departed this world. "Grandma, I haven't seen Cindy for months," I replied, shaking my head. "Ah, she was so good for you too, Silas," she clucked and then continued to chide me as if I were still eight years old. Natasha Glasser's book, The Bubbelah Factor, is chock-full of real and mock advice, filtered through the guise of an older, wiser woman. The guide covers dating, shopping, grooming, and even sex. Oy.
Remarkably, while most of the book is meant to be humorous, "Its always bathing suit season under your clothes," Glasser's faux advice is quite insightful. On the topic of dating, Glasser relates that, "Pay attention to what he does, not what he says." The chapter on shopping includes an interesting two-page spread that reveals the truth behind those hollow cheery statements that salespeople make as you try on clothes. The suggestion, "Lets get you a wrap," becomes "Your upper arms look like ham hocks," after Glasser's translation. The photos accompanying the tidbits of advice -- gaudily overdressed elderly matrons that daintily sip tea and waggle their accusing fingers at the reader -- will create fits of laughter alone. Glasser's book would be an excellent bat mitzvah present, or a "just because I love you" gift for your favorite rebellious daughter. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to clean my room before mother kvetches again.
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