And Then? And Then? What Else? is a bit of a grab bag, starting in the middle and ending in the middle, while telling a series of stories that both connect and overlap ... Handler is skilled and nuanced as a writer, with a developed voice and point of view. He has never fit the categories, so why would we expect him to start here? ... He is frank without being overly revealing and always seeks out some larger integration, a place where thought and feeling might intersect.
Late in the book he abandons his quirky-cool demeanor... and lets fly with an f-bomb-laden rant about cancel culture and the pressure writers feel to be everything to everyone. It’s a fierce cri de coeur at a time when books — especially kids’ books — are targeted on the right and writers who misstep on the inclusivity front get targeted on the left ... Elsewhere his prose tends toward the gentle, sprightly and personal.
Dazzling ... Thought-provoking, deeply personal, and like few other memoirs in the range of topics covered, Handler’s mix of the personal and the literary is as compelling as his gloriously off-beat fiction.
With his inimitable wit and candor, Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, crafts an exceptionally companionable memoir sure to delight and perhaps even challenge both existing fans and readers new to his work ... A fully captivating memoir rich with insights on reading, writing, and life itself.
If you were a Rory Gilmore growing up (as I was and still am), attending social events with a large copy of the combined works of your favorite poet in your bag in case things got boring, this book is made for you. If you love Handler’s work and want to understand how he got those wonderful ideas, this is a good book for you. If you want to be a writer, this book will help justify and qualify your greatest hopes and dreams.
Charming if diffuse ... In a punchy, stream-of-consciousness style, Handler excavates his childhood—including a chilling, flatly delivered recollection of sexual abuse—and his fraught relationship with novel-writing, pulling readers into his funny, fractured world. The wide net he casts can, however, make the proceedings feel slightly rudderless, with too few through lines to tie the book’s entertaining parts into a satisfying whole.
