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Bezig met laden... It's My F---ing Birthday: A Noveldoor Merrill Markoe
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. Never finished. A decently-written story, told over the course of seven birthdays in which the narrator recounts joyless birthday dinners spent with remarkably dysfunctional and hypercritical parents, hideous presents, a confusing series of expensive bouquets sent from an ex-boyfriend, and an almost surreal series of encounters with the opposite sex in the quest for true love. There are moments of self-realization here that almost make up for it, but all in all, this is one of the bleakest stories I've read in a while, and the narrator (I don't know that she ever reveals her name in the book, which seems fraught with meaning) seems at once blind to, and self-aware of, her own role in her increasing despair. It is easy to see why Merrill Markoe was head writer for the David Letterman Show. She has that wry, slightly skewed, often hilarious humor nailed down to a science. I loved this book! Maybe it's because I could SO identify with having that godawful mother. Or maybe it's because Markoe writes so well about feeling unsure of oneself, and having low-to-no self-esteem. Or maybe it's because it's so easy to relate to someone who looks in the mirror and will invariably see ALL the flaws like flashing neon signs instead of one (Just One!) good feature. From my perspective, there's got to be something in this book with which most every woman can identify. This is the first book I've read in 2009... it sets a very high standard for the rest of the year. SUMMARY: an unnamed, unmarried, thirtysomething female narrator takes the audience, via one chapter, through one year in her life. Every birthday, she analyzes her life, resolves to make changes, and vows to learn something new. Unfortunately, she can't seem to break the patterns of behavior with which she's been suffering for most of her life: bad boyfriends, bad sex, bad parental relationships. While not technically a memoir, this novel is too poignant and simply too REAL to be pure fiction. WHY YOU'LL LIKE IT: True moments of hilarity abound throughout the text. I believe Markoe didn't name her protagonist because it allows the reader to mold the character into whatever they choose -- and good luck not identifying with most of her travails! WHY YOU WON'T: There are numerous cringeworthy moments where you want to grab the narrator by her shoulders and shake some sense into her. I had several moments where I actually spoke, "What are you THINKING?! Stand up for yourself!" It can get frustrating, but that's what makes it real. BOTTOM LINE: Not esoteric or life-changing, this novel is a quick and frothy read which will make you laugh, make you think, and make you appreciate how normal your family is (in comparison). geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
??In the coming year,? she said, hoisting her blindingly clean and gleaming glass into the air, ??may half of all your dreams come true.? ??Mom,? I said to her, ??isn??t that kind of pathetic?? ??Well, it??s realistic.? It??s her thirty-sixth birthday, and she really thought things would be different this year??that she??d have figured out men and how to get along with her narcissistic parents enough to survive a birthday celebration. But nothing??s changed. Her disappointing day is capped off by the delivery of a huge bouquet of flowers from Carl, with whom she has recently, and bitterly, split. A gesture of reconciliation? Of passive aggression? She??s too unhinged to tell. It??s My F---ing Birthday unfolds in seven state-of-my-life addresses this hapless high school art teacher writes to herself on consecutive birthdays, as she is determined to break the patterns of behavior that are keeping her down. Her objective: to avoid making the same mistakes over and over and start making some new ones. Through seven outrageously funny years of needling parents, self-absorbed boyfriends, riots, O.J., and Monica??and bigger and bigger bouquets from Carl??she navigates a circuitous (and ultimately successful) route to happiness in a world where everything seems to conspire to the contrary. What I Learned This Year That I Need to Remember 1. No more taking the bait from Mom. Even if the fight becomes about not taking the bait. 2. No more dwelling in the past. 3. Try much harder to continue being a vegetarian. This will limit the restaurants the folks can take me to. 4. No more trying to decode the flowers from Carl. If he sends them again, just think of them as a fun, free thing, like a little sample box of cereal or detergent that suddenly appears in the mailbox. 5. Don??t make a big deal out of the fact that there were no guys this year. Perhaps that??s a better thing than continuing to get involved with guys who exhibit behavior from the beginning that indicates the whole thing is completely hopeless. So try to remember the above as a coping strategy when I am so crazed with horniness that I want to throw myself off a building. 6. No more mumbo jumbo. This means no more calling 900 astrology numbers listed at the end of horoscopes in women??s magazines to find out my love for Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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