RaveThe Open Letters Review... in this buoyant fictional biography [Strauss] has provided a welcome reminder that Ball was far more than an adept comic famous for pulling faces and surreal physical stunts ... energetically quirky and entertaining ... sensitive writing ... He bores deeply and with present-tense energy into the minds and spirits of both characters ... Strauss also manages to widen his lens to a full-blown portrait of the country’s mid-century mores and prejudices ... an impressive mixture of fact and guesswork and pure imagination ... against all odds deeply satisfying.