Reviews
Shrill: Women Are Funny, It's Okay to Be Fat, and Feminists Don't Have to Be Nice, by Lindy West
aneumann's review
5.0
So fitting that my 100th book of the year and the last book in my 2016 Reading Challenge is the book I was most looking forward to in 2016.
I've long admired Lindy West's writing and her particular ability to put words to things I've felt, and felt deeply for a long time but have never been able to solidify into actual coherent beliefs, views, and/or opinions.
This book is deeply funny, I was laughing within the first 5 minutes of listening to the audiobook. It is also deeply moving and deeply personal. West's writing puts you exactly into her shoes- you feel what she's feeling and can't help but to understand why she views the world the way she does.
I firmly believe that everyone should read this book, fat or skinny, male or female, goofy or serious. You'll learn something about yourself and something about others. This book has really made me think about my body, and the way I view it. It also has made me evaluate how I view other people's bodies. I don't always do it with kindness or humanity, and I should.
So pick up this book. Come into with an open mind. West will challenge you to work through some baggage and unfounded opinions, but you'll laugh along the way and you won't regret picking up Shrill.
I've long admired Lindy West's writing and her particular ability to put words to things I've felt, and felt deeply for a long time but have never been able to solidify into actual coherent beliefs, views, and/or opinions.
This book is deeply funny, I was laughing within the first 5 minutes of listening to the audiobook. It is also deeply moving and deeply personal. West's writing puts you exactly into her shoes- you feel what she's feeling and can't help but to understand why she views the world the way she does.
I firmly believe that everyone should read this book, fat or skinny, male or female, goofy or serious. You'll learn something about yourself and something about others. This book has really made me think about my body, and the way I view it. It also has made me evaluate how I view other people's bodies. I don't always do it with kindness or humanity, and I should.
So pick up this book. Come into with an open mind. West will challenge you to work through some baggage and unfounded opinions, but you'll laugh along the way and you won't regret picking up Shrill.
heykellyjensen's review
The first half of the collection is stronger than the second -- it wades too far into personal/relationship stuff that, as someone without an interest in comedy or in other people's love lives, I just don't care about. Within the first half, there are some real gem essays. West's strength really lies in talking about being a fat woman and expressing how we're human, how we deserve heroes and visions of ourselves in pop culture, and how people treat us day in and day out. But her weakness is there's not much depth here. I love her Twitter and I love her work on Jezebel, but here, something isn't quite clicking. The pieces aren't as strong, aren't as powerful, and didn't resonate quite as much as they do in her online forums. It feels like she tries a little too hard to make some stuff funny when she has the capacity to nail it closed with her smart, sharp analytical skills.
It's fine, but it's uneven. It's one that, if you like feminist essays, you should pick up and poke through. But it's not essential in the same way Gay's Bad Feminist is nor is it as deep and engaging and exciting as Benincasa's Real Artists Have Day Jobs.
It's fine, but it's uneven. It's one that, if you like feminist essays, you should pick up and poke through. But it's not essential in the same way Gay's Bad Feminist is nor is it as deep and engaging and exciting as Benincasa's Real Artists Have Day Jobs.
oliviawhitton's review
5.0
Lindy West is one of my favorite feminist writers and I love both of her books. She is unapologetic about her views, her work, her family, her life. West tells it like it is and takes no bullshit. She recognizes that all humans are flawed, including herself and those she loves, and she calls them out on it. She isn't here for your patriarchal standards and she will let you know it. She's also incredibly compassionate and you get the feeling she would be an awesome friend to go out for drinks and dancing with. Definitely a good read.
aprilbooksandwine's review
5.0
I had no idea that Lindy West was coming out with a book. Straight up this was one of the best surprises I’ve had in a long time. Read my full review here
jvan's review
4.0
Some crazy powerful, often hard to read shit. The earlier parts are funnier; the later parts are heavier; all of it is really serious even when it's funny. I think this is an important book, and better, it's a good book, too.
nikimarion's review
4.0
If you are familiar with Lindy West's work, some of these autobiographical essays will seem redundant; however, the first essay alone made me literally laugh out loud five times at her sharp wit. It's about puberty, which West quips, is "a fancy word for your genitals stabbing you in the back." Not wrong.
Unflinchingly honest about her determined advocacy for fat acceptance, feminism, and many other forms of social justice, Lindy West writes with a paradoxical laugh-inducing poignancy, one that will have you joining up to fight under her banner.
Lindy West's voice is one I am truly grateful for in today's media. May her reign, like Beyonce's, never cease.
Unflinchingly honest about her determined advocacy for fat acceptance, feminism, and many other forms of social justice, Lindy West writes with a paradoxical laugh-inducing poignancy, one that will have you joining up to fight under her banner.
Lindy West's voice is one I am truly grateful for in today's media. May her reign, like Beyonce's, never cease.
lindick's review
5.0
Really really good, in the sense of "well-articulated and well-written" and "has a good soul." Everyone should read this book.
booksellingandbagels's review
5.0
My first five-star review of 2016. A hilarious, terrifying, important book. Feminists, trolls, activists, comedians, writers, cis dudes, lady types---really, everyone, should read this.
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