Where the Bodies Are Buried

At long last, the glamorous and poignant saga of Elsa Maxwell is coming to a bookshop near you... "Party Girl: the Elsa Maxwell Story" by Rosemary Kent... "Elsa knew where the bodies were buried," said Kent.
-- William Norwich, in the New York Daily News

You're at an intimate dinner party. The guest on your left is under the blacktop driveway of a two-bedroom brick house in Highland Park, Michigan. How do you begin a conversation? I'm a firm believer in the old rule that one must always avoid politics and religion at the dinner table. Try instead to draw your companion out on subjects of general interest -- boarded-up closets, for example. Even the dullest guest is likely to have some thoughts about them. If that fails to strike a spark, try air shafts. Chances are, you'll be talking away in no time. If it's a summer party, how about air-conditioning vents? Or, if you happen to be dining outside, the topic of wooded areas might be promising. If none of these seem to appeal, put on your brightest smile and turn to the guest on your right. After all, you've done your best.

by Ian Frazier

from Coyote versus Acme

The Noonday Press -- Farrar, Straus and Giroux -- New York