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Devil in the Details

Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood

By Jennifer Traig

(5)

| Hardcover | 9780316158770

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Book Description

In the bestselling tradition of Running with Scissors and A Girl Named Zippy, Jennifer Traig tells an unforgettable story of youthful obsession.

When her father found the washing machine crammed with everything from her sneakers to her barrettes, 12-year-old Jennifer Traig had a simple explanatiContinue

In the bestselling tradition of Running with Scissors and A Girl Named Zippy, Jennifer Traig tells an unforgettable story of youthful obsession.

When her father found the washing machine crammed with everything from her sneakers to her barrettes, 12-year-old Jennifer Traig had a simple explanation: theyd been tainted by the pork fumes emanating from the kitchen and had to be cleansed. The same fumes compelled Jennifer to meticulously wash her hands for 30 minutes before dinner: All scrubbed in for your big casserolectomy, Dr. Traig? her mother asked. It wasnt long before her familys exasperation made Jennifer realize that her behavior had gone beyond fastidious--in her own eyes, shed gone from quirky girl to raving lunatic.

Jennifers childhood mania was the result of her undiagnosed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder joining forces with her Hebrew studies. While preparing for her bat mitzvah, she was introduced to an entire set of arcane laws and quickly made it her mission to follow them perfectly. Her parents nipped her religious obsession in the bud early on, but as her teen years went by, her natural tendency toward the extreme led her down different paths of adolescent agony and mortification.

Years later, Jennifer remembers these scenes with candor and humor. What emerges is a portrait of a well-meaning girl and her good-natured parents, and a very funny, very sharp look back at growing up.

Books like A Girl Named Zippy, Running with Scissors, and Why Im Like This prove that funny books about extraordinary childhoods can find massive audiences.

Critics

  • Devil in the Details

    Americans have many national pastimes, and high among them is hypochondria. You can call it narcissism at its creepiest, or blame it on our unparalleled access to information. Whatever the illness's source, you'll find its manifestations in every urg ... (read full critics)

    raintaxi published on Fri, 3 Sep 2010

  • Devil in the Details

    Through most of her childhood, Jenny Traig suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and its “hyper-religious” cousin scrupulosity. Unfortunately, these problems didn’t have an identification or name in the late 1970’s, so Jenny’s behavior was bran ... (read full critics)

    thebookhaven published on Wed, 1 Sep 2010

2 Reviews

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  • Funny and poignant, this honest book about obsession, family and overdoing religious ritual made me both laugh and think.

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    krin5292 said on Oct 21, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • This was really difficult to get through. It started out ok but the attempt at wry humor got to me after a while ... Traig had serious problems yet this tried to present the humorous side to it. Unfortunately it didn't really work.

    Is this helpful?

    guiltlessreader aka screamingbanshee said on Aug 13, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Book Details

  • Rating:
    (5)
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  • English Books
  • Hardcover 256 Pages
  • ISBN-10: 0316158771
  • ISBN-13: 9780316158770
  • Publisher: Little, Brown
  • Pub date: Sep 14, 2004
  • Dimensions: 1419 mm x 903 mm x 129 mm Just how big is that?
  • Also available as: Paperback, Audio CD and Audio Cassette
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9780316158770 Hardcover -- $9.99 ebooks.com
$22.95 -- The Book Depository
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