"I've never been a smile and nod type of girl, nor have I ever been one to get out of the kitchen."
I'm probably like a lot of the people who will read this book. I've always counted myself as an Amy Schumer fan, although I haven't seen Trainwreck and am like a season behind Inside Amy Schumer. I read obsessively every female comedian memoir as soon as it comes out. (For the record, the best is Bossypants, followed by Is Everyone Hanging Out... and Girl Walks Into a Bar.) I was a little nervous going into this book because I've been disappointed by the recent spate of female comedian essay books, and reading the first chapter of this book only made me more nervous. Amy jumps right in with a "Letter to My Vagina," skipping the usual "Hi there Reader" introduction. I was worried I wouldn't be able to connect with her as an author, and that the book might be full of over the top "let me shock you!" moments.
I was wrong on both counts. Oh, sure, Amy doesn't skimp on the sex stuff, but the book is as tasteful as I could imagine Amy Schumer writing. Yes, it's funny-- Amy's voice comes through on the page well, so you can imagine the dry way she says one thing or the way she might SHOUT something else, and there are plenty of clever little asides that you have to highlight. But what I liked most about this book was something else: its honesty.
Honesty is something that I think is rarely done well in these kinds of books, and attempts to do it can make the author seem false or pretentious. It sunk, for me, at least two high-profile memoirs in recent years. But Amy Schumer tells it like it is in a way that really connected with me. When someone is famous it's easy to think you know them, or even worse, own them. I thought I knew Amy Schumer, but I didn't. I didn't know about the non consensual way she lost her virginity, or her abusive relationship, or her relationship with both parents. I knew a public image, but Amy goes past that in this book to incredible effect.
The "serious" chapters are honestly among the book's best. Some people might say that how Amy lost her virginity isn't that bad, but Amy tells it in such a simple, devastating way that the effect it had on her, and how unacceptable it was, is clear. Same with the "The Worst Night of My Life" chapter. There is a chapter about the shooting that occurred during a showing of "Trainwreck" which gives focus to the victims and doesn't shy away from gun control (which I assume might be part of the reason this site is flooded with fake one star reviews). One of my favorite chapters retells her famous "I've got to get me out of here" speech and adds a later anecdote about being set up by a matchmaker for "Amy Goes Deep" who only took into account Amy's looks. Brutual honesty is often offset by gentle humor so it's never "too much" to read.
Back to the funny-- I loved the bits from Amy's diaries, with present-day commentary, and her recounting of the last time she got blackout drunk. I'm going to do something I never do and buy the Audiobook of a book I've already read, just because I want to hear this all in Amy's own voice.
In sum and in short: if you liked any female comedian essay collections, from Bossypants to How to Be A Woman, read this one immediately. It's absolutely among the best.
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Scotia
The "Trainwreck" has produced one survivor who still a lot to say.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2017