September 6, 2004

Any woman who's urban and single has dated the author, or his facsimile: smart, witty, quirkily good-looking and terminally self-absorbed.   The metrosexual is a dandy, yet certifiably hetero; he is romantically attached to his days of recreational pharmaceuticals, backpack travel and slave-wage jobs, all cushioned by a comfortable upbringing where comfort is but a phone call away.  

In this latest contribution to the lad-lit genre, Hyman's essays seek to define metrosexual with aphorisms: "Men with disposable incomes who like to shop are this year's black." His best essays have a self deprecating quality; we learn that a fact-checking stint at Vanity Fair--handling queries such as which actor was originally cast in the role of Indiana Jones (Tom Selleck)--left him with an “ability to be the most annoying, smart-assed guest at a dinner party.   Other essays seem stagey (getting a Brazilian bikini wax), but Hyman's certainly good for a summer fling, even if you don't want to commit. -- By Judith Newman

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