For readers of Nora Ephron, Tina Fey, and David Sedaris, this hilarious, poignant, and extremely frank collection of personal essays confirms Lena Dunham - the acclaimed creator, producer, and star of HBO's Girls - as one of the brightest and most original writers working today. Lena Dunham is many, many things.
Creator, actor, producer and writer of the award-winning cult television show Girls, the first thing you have to know about Lena is that she's unafraid to say exactly what she thinks. She's also provocative, very funny, original, dead-pan, disturbing, neurotic, simultaneously deep and shallow, and often way, way out there. This book is a collection of her experiences, stories that have, as she describes them, "little baby morals": about dieting, about dressing, about friendship and existential crises.
These are stories that most twenty something year old girls will be able to relate to: about the guys she's let sleep in her bed who didn't really want to fuck her, about getting her butt touched at an internship and having to prove herself in a meeting full of 50-year-old men. It's all about trying to work out what to wear, what to say and how to be, every single day. "And if I could take what I've learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine was worthwhile. I'm already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you, but also my future glory in having stopped you from trying an expensive juice cleanse or thinking that it was your fault when some guy suddenly got weird and defensive talking about your cool interests and job.
No, I am not a sexpert, a psychologist or a dietician. I am not a happily married woman or the owner of a successful support hosiery franchise. But I am a girl with a keen interest in having it all, sending hopeful dispatches from the frontlines of that struggle.
My Review
Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's 'Learned by Lena Dunham is a brutally honest account of one woman’s reflection with humor and insight.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author, for a day’s entertainment while running errands, jogging, and driving.
Even though I am an older generation, sometimes it feels as though Dunham brings kind of a mature and older perspective from her experiences in life. Her writing is sassy, honest, funny, artful, creative, shocking, and hilarious at times as you will laugh out loud.
Her experiences can range from painful mistakes, flaws, sarcastic, cynical, to smiles. I commend her for her boldness and bravery in writing her story, as she is not shy about airing her laundry for everyone- and plenty of gals could take a page out of her book, and learn from experience.
She is all over the board, which makes the audiobook fun, flitting from one thing to another as if she were with a group of friends, which was kind of refreshing.
Even if you are not in the age group, it is still an entertaining look for those who want to understand the complexities of this generation.
I was a huge fan of Carrie Bradshaw; however think Lena is more real and brutally honest which may make some more uncomfortable, but she says what she thinks so you have to admire her.
