BACHELOR GIRLS by Wendy Wasserstein (Vintage:...

BACHELOR GIRLS by Wendy Wasserstein (Vintage: $9). In these comic essays, originally published in New York Woman, the author of “The Heidi Chronicles” reflects on the problems of being an intelligent female and less than gorgeous in contemporary America. Numerous writers, from Erma Bombeck to Cathy Guisewite (of the comic strip “Cathy”), have exploited the humorous potential of these topics, but Wasserstein writes with unusual perception and wit. She acknowledges her predilection for junk food, recalling the day she discovered she belonged to the biological class of “cupcakivores,” but she balances that confession with a touching description of the mixed emotions she experienced when she won the Pulitzer Prize. The result is a satisfying and very funny blend of self-deprecation, pride and bemusement.