text: Reviewers note that the essays , like the book , are long ( 97 pages about a cruise-ship voyage , 54 on the Illinois State Fair ) and playful ( He trounces words ; he pivots on commas ; he drops in and out of styles like a vaudevillian who lets the audience watch him change costumes right there on stage , says the Los Angeles Times ' Susan Salter Reynolds ) .
  
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  His essays have been more successful than his book , although the writing style is similar .