In this rollicking collection of sketches, Twain turns his gimlet eye on the peculiar absurdities of everyday life. An undertaker meditates on what the dead might actually want (hint: it's not what you'd think). A long-suffering gentleman catalogs the endless tribulations of dealing with chambermaids. A young man discovers that misfortune follows him like a loyal dog. These are not mere jokes, they're precision instruments of social critique, dressed up in comic clothes. Twain observes the contradictions in American life with a combination of wonder and wry resignation, finding humor in the gap between how things are and how they ought to be. The writing crackles with energy, moving from broad comedy to quieter ironies with effortless grace. If you've ever wondered what happens when you take the sacred seriously and the mundane absurdly, Twain is your guide.
