Stand-up comedian Carol Leifer, who was discovered by David Letterman in the 1970s, has written multiple autobiographical books that tend to center on her Jewish heritage and her lesbian relationship. When You Lie About Your Age, the Terrorists Win focuses on Leifer’s thoughts as she turns 50. Though they are a disparate group of essays, most are tied together by the common theme of growing older. While all age groups will likely find When You Lie About Your Age, the Terrorists Win amusing, those in Leifer’s age range will probably appreciate it the most.
Books of essays often run into problems of consistency: some of the essays are good, and some are bad. That isn’t a problem in When You Lie . The essays are all funny, though some are slower than others. Leifer really has a great sense of humor and can find something funny in any situation. From her decision to pursue a lesbian relationship as a mid-life crisis (“If I don’t sleep with a woman soon, I think I’ll kill myself”) to going from not being an animal person to having seven dogs, the ironies in her life are easy to laugh at. After reading this book, it is blindingly clear why she has been such a successful stand-up comedian: Leifer really is that funny.
The essays collected here are all column-length, which is a blessing for those with short attention spans and makes this a great book for people who don’t really read a lot or who want to read more nonfiction but lose interest quickly. Additionally, the conversational tone of the essays makes it seem more like you are having a discussion with a friend rather than reading a memoir. It makes When You Lie easy to read and very enjoyable. With endorsements from such comedy giants as Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Maher, Garry Shandling, Ellen DeGeneres and Larry David, you know this book will be funny.
And it is.