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A review by bookishmillennial
Meaty by Samantha Irby
funny
reflective
fast-paced
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
It is fascinating to me to read an author's backlist titles over a decade ago, recognizing how vastly the zeitgeist has changed. This book was published in 2013, and very much reads as a 2013 book - I know there's a more eloquent way to say that, but oh well. I am but a peasant.
Anyway, there's a few problematic elements in this that were largely unchallenged in mass media and cultural attitudes in 2013, like assuming your East Asian nail technicians are talking shit about you in their native language, and a bit of ableist language that we don't condone anymore.
Besides this, I did appreciate the vulgar, raw honesty with which Samantha Irby shares her lived experience of having Crohn's Disease and how it can get ugly sometimes. I audibly snickered or heartily laughed multiple times throughout the audiobook (such as the time she was discussing how no one is jealous of you and your dusty, crusty boyfriend hahaha). I also thought the part where she discussed how much money she spent in two weeks was relatable, because that's "treat culture" in a nutshell and still rings true today. Life is expensive and enjoying it is even moreso.
Anyway, I'll continue to read the rest of her essay collections in pub order, and hopefully, they are a bit more with the times as I get through the more recent ones!
It is fascinating to me to read an author's backlist titles over a decade ago, recognizing how vastly the zeitgeist has changed. This book was published in 2013, and very much reads as a 2013 book - I know there's a more eloquent way to say that, but oh well. I am but a peasant.
Anyway, there's a few problematic elements in this that were largely unchallenged in mass media and cultural attitudes in 2013, like assuming your East Asian nail technicians are talking shit about you in their native language, and a bit of ableist language that we don't condone anymore.
Besides this, I did appreciate the vulgar, raw honesty with which Samantha Irby shares her lived experience of having Crohn's Disease and how it can get ugly sometimes. I audibly snickered or heartily laughed multiple times throughout the audiobook (such as the time she was discussing how no one is jealous of you and your dusty, crusty boyfriend hahaha). I also thought the part where she discussed how much money she spent in two weeks was relatable, because that's "treat culture" in a nutshell and still rings true today. Life is expensive and enjoying it is even moreso.
Anyway, I'll continue to read the rest of her essay collections in pub order, and hopefully, they are a bit more with the times as I get through the more recent ones!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual content, Excrement, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail