Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Hilarious For This Lapsed Catholic!
Review: I don't know if you will find this as hilarious as I did if you have no Catholicism in your past. However, if you do, this cross-pollinating of the Roman Catholic Church with the advertising industry was LOL funny. An ad man, on the lam from the law, is forced to pass himself off as a priest using his twin brother's clothes and job. Naturally, he brings all of his talents for media spin and hype to use against the church when it tries to close down his job site, The Care Center. This could have only been set in L.A. for maximum effect and it is. I must read Fitzhugh's earlier books now that I've read this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Great laughs, but ending falls short
Review: I especially enjoyed the first chapter of Cross Dressing, and as an avid fan of Fitzhugh and his work, I have to ask, "What were you thinking in the final chapter?" Like Pest Control, Fitzhugh spends a lot of time building up to the final climax, which was soooo promising, but just as in Pest Control, he dropped the ball. It was alomost as if he was trying to make a deadline...what a let down! Bill, please, spend more time on your endings, you could have said much, much more; instead of leaving a bunch of loose ends...namely the Third World Man, and the Insurance Cop (who should have been shot by the Third World Man via an adrenaline-fuelled stray bullet.) Good read, though, especially if you're in Marketing, or you live in LA. If you want Fitzhugh at his best however, pick up a copy of Organ Grinders.
Rating: 
Summary: Just below par
Review: I have read all of Fitzhugh's books. This was my least favorite, although, I really did enjoy it. The hilarity was a bit more toned down than I would have expected. There was a little more emotion and less intensity than previous novels. An overall good read with some laughs. My rational mind really enjoyed the religious barbs aimed towards.... Recommended
Rating:
Summary: Forgive me Father for I have LAUGHED
Review: I missed Cross Dressing when it originally came out, so I was happy to see it released on paperback. I only just recently finished "Fender Benders" also by Bill Fitzhugh (see separate review) and enjoyed "Cross Dressing" so much more! This novel has the laugh-out-loud situations and interwoven storylines that made "Pest Control" such a funny and utterly delightful read. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Dan Steele and his twin brother Michael grew up poor. Dan vowed long ago never to go back to this lifestyle, so he dives head first into the world of advertising and print/television commercials. Michael is a Catholic priest, who lives his life in service of the church, mostly helping starving tribes in Africa. An ailing Michael returns home to "visit" his brother and their whack-a-loon mother. Lacking insurance coverage, Dan sends Michael into the hospital posing as him. Michael dies. Dan becomes Michael in an attempt to escape the snowballing events surrounding his own life. (Read the book, no spoilers here!) The sequence of Dan first masquerading as a priest in the hospital as he receives the bill for services rendered is funny enough to warrant buying this novel. The litany of tests, surgeries, probing and prodding that the poor priest went through is absolutely hilarious. Can a 30-something, money-grubbing, Glenlivet drinking, conniving ad-man on the run pull off the ultimate performance?! And what's Dan going to do about celibacy around the knock-out nun, Sister Peg?! (Read the book and find out.) "Cross Dressing" ranks second for me of the Bill Fitzhugh books. Just behind "Pest Control" and one place above "Organ Grinders" and "Fender Benders". Without giving too much of the wonderful story away... know this much...There's a lot of fun to be had! Give this novel a try.
Rating:
Summary: Forgive me Father for I have LAUGHED
Review: I missed Cross Dressing when it originally came out, so I was happy to see it released on paperback. I only just recently finished "Fender Benders" also by Bill Fitzhugh (see separate review) and enjoyed "Cross Dressing" so much more! This novel has the laugh-out-loud situations and interwoven storylines that made "Pest Control" such a funny and utterly delightful read. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Dan Steele and his twin brother Michael grew up poor. Dan vowed long ago never to go back to this lifestyle, so he dives head first into the world of advertising and print/television commercials. Michael is a Catholic priest, who lives his life in service of the church, mostly helping starving tribes in Africa. An ailing Michael returns home to "visit" his brother and their whack-a-loon mother. Lacking insurance coverage, Dan sends Michael into the hospital posing as him. Michael dies. Dan becomes Michael in an attempt to escape the snowballing events surrounding his own life. (Read the book, no spoilers here!) The sequence of Dan first masquerading as a priest in the hospital as he receives the bill for services rendered is funny enough to warrant buying this novel. The litany of tests, surgeries, probing and prodding that the poor priest went through is absolutely hilarious. Can a 30-something, money-grubbing, Glenlivet drinking, conniving ad-man on the run pull off the ultimate performance?! And what's Dan going to do about celibacy around the knock-out nun, Sister Peg?! (Read the book and find out.) "Cross Dressing" ranks second for me of the Bill Fitzhugh books. Just behind "Pest Control" and one place above "Organ Grinders" and "Fender Benders". Without giving too much of the wonderful story away... know this much...There's a lot of fun to be had! Give this novel a try.
Rating:
Summary: Finest kind and the some
Review: I'm a Bill Fitzhugh fan in general but I totally love this novel which covers quite a lot of ground. It's also one of my fave romantice novels and so deliciously bizarre. Fitzhugh has not only a distinct voice but an irrevent wit that I worship, bless his pahtooties. And, the man can write ... very well indeed. Did I say he can write? Woohoo, finest kind!
Rating:
Summary: Fitzhugh shoots, he SCORES!
Review: I've read Fitzhugh's other brilliantly inventive works and this latest maintains that breathless combination of hilarity, a compelling tale, and pointed social (and theological) satire. An ad guy posing as a Catholic priest? A nun who may be a... well read it and uncover all these juicy little delicacies yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Mr. Fitzhugh is One Of A Kind!
Review: If you're looking for the outrageous, eccentric, with a laugh in at least every paragraph, you just can't beat Bill Fitzhugh! Plus , his books are great satires on contempary America. CROSS DRESSING is perhaps his most realistic, with no sci- fi overtones such as those found in PEST CONTROL, an even wilder ride! Here we have a socially aware nun with an unusual past, meeting up with an ad huckster in some of the funniest scenes ever written, yet everything here is certainly very possible, if not likely. His barbs at organized religion, and the huckster consumer society are all too real! Truly, Mr Fitzhugh strikes a solid punch, and one wishes for more success for this unique, zanily- inspired author!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as good as Pest Control & Organ Grinders
Review: It is worth a read, but I would suggest Bill Fitzhugh's Pest Control or Organ Grinders over Cross Dressing. Both are very entertaining, original and seriously funny.
Rating:
Summary: Serious fun with energy and a conscience
Review: Lawyers, movie folk, management consultants and advertising people must be the most tempting targets for any satirist. They loom over the common herd, often deeply resented and yet somehow making themselves indispensable. And the herd allows them to scoop up far more than their fair share of the lush green stuff. In "Cross Dressing", author Bill Fitzhugh starts with shallow, venal, treacherous advertising people squarely in his sights but plenty of other juicy targets get blasted before the book is through - real estate developers, Catholic aparatchiks and African warlords to name but a few. The plot tests the limits of credibility pretty early on and soon decides to go flat out for preposterous. Great fun but too indignant to be funny. Many of the key characters are two-dimensional and/or stereotypes, yet engaging. And the whole cockeyed contraption is turbo-charged with a hard-edged compassion that makes it a really compelling read. There's lots of food for thought. Despite hearty swipes at the Church establishment, it's far from being anti-catholic. In fact it lionizes the true-to-the-teachings spirit of front-line Catholics. Ultimately it's a tale of redemption that has more heart, soul and thinking than a rack full of airport thrillers. I'm still savouring it a month after finishing it. Kudos to Fitzhugh.
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