Tag Archives: british

Book Review: How To Be a Woman

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How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran (pub date 7/17/12)

“What is feminism? Simply the belief that women should be as free as men, however nuts, dim, deluded, badly dressed, fat, receding, lazy, and smug they might be.  Are you a feminist?  Hahaha.  Of course you are.”

Caitlin Moran is my new personal hero, and I only just heard of her four days ago.  She’s a British journalist, broadcaster, and TV critic with one hell of a personality.  And she worked for “Melody Maker” magazine in the 90s during the height of the Britrock era, which was my absolute hands-down dream job all throughout eight grade and most of high school.  But I digress…

Aside from living the life I wanted during my pubescent years, Moran is the author of this part memoir, part feminist manifesto How To Be a Woman.  First published in the UK last year, this hit title made its way across the pond this week.

In her book, Moran shares her most memorable personal experiences from age thirteen to adulthood, experiences that shaped the woman she became.  From discovering the joys of masturbation, to body image issues, sex, marriage, pregnancy, and her first encounters with sexism, Moran relates her life to the bigger issues women face every day.  She ponders the things that are supposed to make us “womanly,” like Brazilian waxes, big weddings, and an interest in fashion.  She also argues the pros and cons of strip clubs, and lists the best and worst words to call your vagina.

What I loved most about this book was its perfect mixture of humor and seriousness.  While Moran’s hilarious observations had me cracking up, her chapter on abortion was reverent and thought-provoking.  And while she is a mother of two, I still want to give a big thumbs-up and thank you for her chapter defending the childfree lifestyle.

So what is the book’s overall message?  Every woman is a feminist!  Moran asserts that if you have a vagina and want to be in control of it, you are a feminist.  It’s not about maintaining a certain image or about hating men (this is NOT an anti-man book, just in case you were wondering), it’s about freedom and equality.

I don’t read many memoirs, but I loved How To Be a Woman.  If you’re a woman, you should read it.  There will definitely be something in it that you can identify with.  Fans of ‘The Bloggess’ Jenny Lawson will be able to appreciate this book’s sense of humor.  Some people may find the British slang a bit tricky, but it won’t affect your understanding of the book.  And if you’re thinking that you’re not a feminist, you need to read this book even more, because you’re the ones it was written for.

Early Review: Grow Up

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Grow Up by Ben Brooks (pub date 4/24/12)

“Cults are so oppressive.  Except for the Manson Family.  They got to try lots of exciting things.”

Coming-of-age novels featuring teen boys have always been both interesting and controversial.  They tend to be more forceful, more strongly worded, and can sometimes contain more questionable material than feminine coming-of-age stories.  From Catcher in the Rye to Lord of the Flies to The Diary of Adrian Mole, these kind of novels have made lasting impressions in the world of literature and have given us memorable characters for generations.

Despite best efforts, however, the protagonist in Grow Up is no Holden Caulfield or Adrian Mole.  British teen Jasper Wolf spends his free time getting high with friends (he often resorts to snorting fertilizer) and advancing his sexual prowess.  When he isn’t partying, Jasper is writing erotic fiction or speculating on whether his stepfather murdered his ex wife.  He also sees a therapist, but subverts his therapy by making up stories about himself and his past.  The plot basically meanders until the end, when Jasper achieves a mild form of enlightenment about taking responsibility for his actions.

What frustrated me about this book was that Jasper would have been a more interesting character, and the book as a whole would have been more worthwhile, if the lessons learned at the end would have been more pronounced.  The book lacks catharsis and resolution, making the story leading up to the ending pretty much pointless.  The writing was actually pretty clever at times, and Jasper had a humorous streak to him, which made it rather disappointing that the plot lacked direction.

Teens may enjoy this book for the sex, drugs, and language, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  But more serious readers will likely finish it and think “so what?”  I’m not in any way opposed to books that contain crude material (Trainspotting is still one of my favorite novels), but for me there has to be a point to all that debauchery.  So while the book caused a minor stir when it was published in England (though it failed to impress some British book critics), I’m not sure what American readers will make of it.

Did you read this book?  Tell me what you thought!

Book Review: That Deadman Dance

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That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott (pub date 2/28/12)

“My people and I are not so good traders as we thought.  We thought making friends was the best thing, and never knew that when we took your flour and sugar and tea and blankets that we’d lose everything of ours.  We learned your words and songs and stories, and never knew you didn’t want to hear ours.”

The British colonization of Australia is a fascinating subject, and one that I’ve found isn’t explored too often in American literature.  Just because it isn’t a part of American history doesn’t make it any less relavant to us.  The British colonists’ relations with the Aboriginal tribes of Australia seem to closely resemble those of American colonists and Native Americans.  It’s a relationship of fear and ignorance, and Australian author Kim Scott explores this history in his novel That Deadman Dance.

Set in the early part of the 19th century, the book tells the story of Bobby Wabalanginy, a young member of the Noongar tribe, and his experiences with the newly arrived British colonists at King George Town.  Some of the British are warm and generous; Dr. Cross is kind to the natives and has a special kinship with a tribe elder called Wunyerun.  After their deaths they are buried beside each other (as Dr. Cross requested), but while Dr. Cross is given a proper grave stone, Wunyerun’s grave lies unmarked.  This sets the tone for the future relations between the British and the Noongar people.   

What follows is a story of mistreatment and racism toward the indiginous tribes.  The theft of food from the colonists’ storeroom is severely punished, yet the colonists feel entitled to kill as many whales and kangaroos as they deem fit.  Years later a much older Bobby would become a local entertainer, putting on performances for the white tourists.  He is now seemingly a shadow of his former self.

I’m not exactly sure what to make of this novel.  I was excited to read it and I enjoyed the overall story, but often I found it difficult to read.  The book often switches perspectives among multiple characters and switches to different points in the timeline, and this was done in such a way that it left me unsure at times of who was speaking or who was the subject of the chapter.  However I will say that this may be due more to the layout of the unproofed Kindle version I read rather than the author’s writing style.  Af of now I only have the advance e-book copy to go by, so it may be worth a re-read when the book is published in its final format.

I also found that some subplots were introduced only to be quickly forgotten.  There was a hint of a romance between Bobby and a colonist’s daughter but then it was never brought up again.  There was a lot of description about whale hunting, but I would have liked to see that description applied more to the characters.

Still, this is an important story that deserved to be told.  The book was already released in Australia, where it won the prestigious Miles Franklin award in 2011.  If you’re interested in Australian history or world history in general, That Deadman Dance is worth reading.