My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don’t really have a ton to say about this book. It was wonderfully funny, which was an absolute certainty coming from such a funny comedienne & writer. It was also completely unsubstantial and probably longer than a book about an active person needs to be. Going through the book, I felt like I did when I heard Tina Fey was being honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor; it’s not that it was unjustified – far from it. It just seemed a bit premature. As talented as Fey is, I suspect that her best work is still ahead of her (or at least that her best isn’t behind her). It’s a little early for career retrospectives, isn’t it?
Like all autobiographies, it is most enjoyable the further the narrative stays from the present time. The stories of growing up and discovering her voice are absolutely hysterical. Once the story starts to catch up to current events it feels more like a journal. I’m not that interested in reading an author’s thoughts on things that just happened – I was there – I got the gist of it. More detail starts to feel like justification and over-explanation of events – I’m already reading your side of the story – it’s your book. Tell me more about your theatre camp – that was a riot…
The exception to this criticism is the newer material on parenting. Because that is providing access to things I didn’t previously know about. And because it is side-splitting funny.
I actually listened to the author narrate this story as opposed to reading it. I’m sure I would have enjoyed the book without Tina Fey’s voice but I can’t imagine I would have enjoyed it as much. She has such a fantastic delivery. Recommended.
