My Little Blue Dress (2011)

This first novel from former Spy editor Bruno Maddox purports to be a memoir of a 100-year-old woman -- but it quickly becomes clear that the entire ''autobiography'' is actually being authored by one Bruno Maddox, who is scrambling to pound the thing out in a single evening. As the night wears on and the author loses focus, what started as a hilarious, pop-addled history of a British biddy becomes a diary of the self-loathing exploits of a New York writer named -- you guessed it -- Bruno Maddox. It's fun, full-throttle stuff, which rather miraculously dresses down the pernicious personal-history trend while remaining both giggly and moving on its own terms.