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Title: Funny, but doesn't ring true
Review: I couldn't decide whether this is meant to be a witty novel or a satirical account of our response to 9/11. Because much of Heidi Julavitis's novel is too ridiculous to be simply a witty story, I eventually plunked with satire. This is problematic: for satire to work it must keep the same tone throughout. Not so here--some of the characters in this book ring true, others are outlandish. I'm sure she'd argue it differs from simple slapstick in that it take on "big" ideas. Fine, but the story can't carry their weight.
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