RaveThe Poetry ProjectAs with Ess’s various other personae (she’s published under quite a few pseudonyms over the years), Darryl’s is balanced precariously between the languid and the intensive, between a desire to poke and prod at orthodoxy and a blanket good faith so unshakeable that it’s almost scary ... There’s no wink here, though Darryl is a relentlessly funny book ... Darryl is unmissable. It’s so unmissable I almost want to tell you its unexpected ending—but I won’t ... you’d better hurry up to devour Darryl before [Ess\'s next novel] comes out. You might get caught blindfolded, staring at a locked bedroom door, while inside, someone’s reading the copy of this smoking hot novel that should have been intended for you—denying you all that pleasure, all those delightful words.