Weird and heartwarming

As any self-respecting Craigslist junkie knows, the fake posts and subsequent responses recorded by Gary Fingercastle in this book, subtitled One Hundred of the Weirdest Posts Ever Seen on Craigslist (and Their Responses), aren’t far off the virtual mark. It’s no surprise, considering the “best of” section of Craigslist is riddled with angry hipster-hating roommates and dinosaur scalies looking for fellow cloaca bumpers, that responders to Fingercastle’s stunt posts seem genuinely excited about the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to possess a life-size Pauly Shore cardboard cutout. Fingercastle seems to view his experiences with amused horror, and indeed, it takes some serious effort not to giggle at the enthusiasm with which some Vegas residents will pursue a trained monkey butler. However, Bear Cubs also carries a strangely touching moral: Kink, no matter how weird, must go unfulfilled online. One response, “Honey, I will wear what you want and bite whatever you like,” just may be the sweetest friggin’ thing I’ve read all year.