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| Review by Coll 5 Stars |
So I have never been big into stand-up comedy (or comedy in
general) and it is rare that I find a comedian I really like a lot. I could
probably count how many comedians I am a “fan of” on one hand. Amy Schumer
happens to be one of them. So when I saw her book, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, was being offered for the
September Book of the Month I had to choose it. It has been on my TBR since it
came out and this seemed like a sign to me that the timing was right to read
it. I am so damn happy I did. Memoirs are not the easiest thing to review, so
this may be quite short, but there were a few things I felt I should say about
this book.
The Girl with the
Lower Back Tattoo is a memoir, but with a whole lot more mixed in. Add
comedy, drama, sex, feminism, sarcasm, and a boatload of scathing honesty and
there you have it. I don’t want to gush about Amy, but I just want to quickly
explain what drew me to her in the first place. It is not just that I think she
is hilarious, but I love what she stands for too. She is a strong-ass woman who
is not afraid to speak her mind. She doesn’t let all the trolls destroy her and
she doesn’t try to change herself to be more “acceptable”. And honestly, I
believe she is 100% acceptable as is. If you didn’t know those things about her
already, you will definitely learn them while reading this book.
Going into this book I knew it would be funny and I knew it
would be brutally and wonderfully honest. What I did not know what how much soul,
emotion, and heartbreak there would be in it. Amy is completely up-front with
so many things that she has been through, things that I never even thought she
had experienced. She comes off so perfectly flawed and I loved knowing that she
was just like anyone else in the world and not afraid to show it. I also praise
her so much for her honesty in this book and how she did not hold back one damn
thing, no matter who it would piss off. She talked about her childhood, her
parents, her start in comedy, her love life, and so much more and never once
tried to make herself seem like some flawless celebrity on a pedestal. It was
amazing.
One thing I really appreciated in this book was that even
when she spoke about some very heavy things from her life, she always lightened
it up with some humor. She would add something mocking or funny in parentheses
and she would include sporadic lists throughout the book that always made me
laugh. Admittedly, sometimes the parentheses remarks seemed a little forced,
but more often than not I enjoyed them. My favorite chapters were ones where
she would include a diary entry from when she was young and include footnotes
with remark to her younger self. (This made me wish I had kept my journals from
when I was younger to do the same thing.) She also includes pictures throughout
the book, as all memoirs do, and they are a great mix of perfectly composed
photos and completely hilarious and “unflattering” photos. We all need to admit
that one of the best things about memoirs are the pictures and we always enjoy
it more when some of them are just a hot mess. ;-)
If you are a fan of Amy you need to read this book. If you
are not a fan and don’t know much about her but are interested, then I also
recommend you read this book. I found it refreshing to hear a celebrity talk
about their downfalls, mistakes, and not hold back anything because it made it much
more personal and real. I felt like I got to know Amy Schumer through this book
and that if I met her I would feel like I had known her for years. When it
comes down to it, The Girl with the Lower
Back Tattoo made me not only love Amy Schumer more, but it also made me
love myself more, and for that I thank her. I know that might sound weird, but
if you read the book you will get it. Oh and yes, she really does have that
lower back tattoo. ;-)
Interested in The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo? Check it out on Goodreads.
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