Mallory Ortberg is the co-creator of a website I've never heard of, which is consistent with the tone of the book (the website part, not the I've-never-heard-of-it part). It's basically a series of imagined text conversations, mostly between fictional characters from classic literature. (Some not; more on that in a bit.) It's irreverent, mildly mean-spirited, and heavily potty-mouthed (because you can tell how "authentic" someone is by how many times they curse in casual conversation).
If you are a former lit major, the book will give you that pleasant self-satisfied glow of erudition, because you totally know who Glauce is and why it's funny that the number Dido is texting has been disconnected. I found the Les Mis chapter-ette particularly hilarious as it made fun of Marius for being a spoiled rich kid who doesn't even know what he's rebelling against at the barricades. You can get that one just from having seen the musical.
However, some of the text messages aren't ascribed to fictional characters but to actual personages, particularly poets. I found those rather unfair. Pick on J. Alfred Prufrock if you like, but making fun of Wordsworth because he was wandering lonely as a cloud is unsporting. I don't think there's a poem in existence you can't make sound ridiculous by inserting it into everyday conversation. And no one pokes fun at Emily Dickinson on my watch.
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