The Voodoo Kit and Handbook

Less a book than — 'scuse the pun — a high-spirited tchotchke. What you get for your pains in The Voodoo Kit and Handbook: a wan scarecrow of a doll, a few pins with which to skewer it (and, in effigy, your enemies), and an instruction manual that's as silly as putty. The author, Voodoo Lou, a.k.a. Lou Harry, who claims responsibility for Marisa Tomei's Oscar win, suggests you practice on Mr. Potato Head and reminisces about the Gilligan's Island voodoo episode, the bumbling tone of which seems to have infused this entire endeavor. But let's forgive the spelling errors and apparently hasty production, shall we — why risk getting hexed? C+