Tiffany Midge

This book is a collection of writings by its author, with most if not all of them having been previously published elsewhere. Many of them are satirical, some are written in a light-hearted way, but other portions are definitely serious, including some discussion of sexual assault. If you picked this book up expecting it to be laugh-out-loud funny from cover to cover, you're likely to be caught off-guard.

I don't know that it's entirely accurate to call it a memoir, either. It certainly has sections in which the author tells stories of her own life, but there are many more pieces about current events in the US (at the time of publication) and US politics and US culture that don't go into personal details at all. It also assumes the reader understands most of these references, so you ought to be familiar with what was going on in the US during the Obama and Trump eras.

For me, the book felt most similar to browsing through the author's social media feed. It features a variety of content, much of it seeming to be targeted to an audience that understands her references and shares her opinions. It feels the type of content you might like and share, and indeed there is reference in the book itself to one of the satirical articles going viral.

So if you're the type of reader who's ready to cheer the author on while she makes a point in a compelling way and smile or laugh as she makes fun of things and people you also dislike, you're likely to enjoy this quite a bit. Just be prepared for what it is instead of hoping for what it isn't.… (meer)

Several of Midge’s pieces, particularly the longer more reflective essays, were spectacular. There were even a few shorter satire pieces that made me thing about privilege in new ways, particularly related to language. Sadly, this suffered from bad packaging. I got reading whiplash a few times, surprised by the tone of each piece to the point of needing to pause and assess what I was reading. Was it satire, reflection, meme-like humor, or shit post? In the end I was unsatisfied with the book as a whole, but I will look for Midge’s other work and give it another shot.… (meer)

Searing political commentary that I nodded in agreement with, but satire never lands right for me. I just don’t think it’s funny. It always seems too on the nose. For context, I DNF’d A Confederacy of Dunces, Catch-22, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s court. If you like satire, this might be one for your TBR list.

Here’s a sample of Midge’s writing: target="_top">https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2017/may/bury-my-heart-chuck-e-cheeses-tiff...… (meer)

I often don't pay much mind to the authors of the books that I read which is something I'm working on in 2021. I want to be more purposeful and try to read more diversely not just in gender representation but also by picking up more own voices books that speak to the experiences of marginalized people. So to begin this quest I picked up Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's by Tiffany Midge. Tiffany writes about social justice issues through the lens of satire exploring the experiences of Indigenous peoples in the United States. She covers the gamut of topics from culturally insensitive (i.e. racist) costumes at Halloween to people claiming to be "2/10th Cherokee, I swear" to the atrocities that occurred during the peaceful protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline. My personal favorite essays were the ones she framed as 'open letters' to white girls which were so hysterical that I read them through twice. I also appreciated her tricking her family into going to Costco to try free samples by saying it was the Country Buffet. (I'm taking notes, mom!) The collection gets off to a bit of a slow start (it felt a bit flat especially after the rib tickling introduction by Geary Hobson) but the great thing about an essay collection is that you can always dip in and out without missing any crucial plot points. I definitely think that I'll be picking up more writing from her in the future because I really appreciated her perspective on the sociopolitical climate in the U.S. as well as her A+ dining suggestions. 😉😜 6/10… (meer)