The light-hearted struggles of a 220-pound English professor and editor whose dieting gains (losses?) are threatened by stressful encounters with the IRS and a lawsuit-packing little old lady. If this sounds strained, consider the food-centered takeoffs on Joyce or Shakespeare: ""Alas, poor strudel, I knew thee well."" But these are the highlights; the core of the material comes from the mundane details of dieting, as in ""My constipation continues and is a pain,"" or (ironically) ""The grapefruit is the dieter's best friend."" Not for the sensitive palate.