The separation begins with the details of her scar, acquired through a mugging as a child and her adamant stance that she will not share the gory details of the story (as it were.) Perfectly acceptable, yet distancing. Here, we feel invited into Fey’s life and entrusted with her confidence. Really, it’s a combination of the above, a sort of stream-of-consciousness narrative that skims Fey’s life with the occasional more long term stop at a memory or even more likely an issue (the stigma experienced by female comedians, photoshopping and its effects on our society, breast feeding and social expectations of mothers, etc.) That’s not to say it’s not fun – it’s just not entirely obvious what the book wants to be, what the ultimate summarization is – and herein lies the core of my dissatisfaction.įey starts out describing her father, building out the details of her childhood and it seems like everything you expect from a memoir, details including many wry observations and laugh-out-loud moments. It hints at motivational speak and advice – but that’s not all it’s about.

It promises to shed light on the behind the scenes moments of Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock – yet it doesn’t. It promises to be a comedic round of jokes and hilarious stories – yet it’s not. Bossypants promises to be a memoir – yet it’s really not. Perhaps it was because of all the hype, the promises ranging from the bubbly back cover (or back of the audio-book) blurb and five star Amazon reviews creating high expectations. Yet, after finishing the last disc of the memoir, Fey’s expressive voice dissolving into the steady whir of highway noise, I felt dissatisfied the phrase “is that it?” echoing around in my numbed brain.

Read by Fey herself and lauded as a sometimes motivational, sometimes satirical, and an always hilarious memoir, the peppy, down-to-earth passionate voice of Fey made the road trip easier and frequently had us snorting with laughter. Getting ready for the nine hour plus drive to spend Christmas celebration part I with the boyfriend’s family, the boyfriend and I bundled into the car with an array of emergency audiobooks, including Tina Fey’s memoir, Bossypants. Rating: In Which Tina Fey Amuses While Avoiding Creating an Actual Memoir

Tina fey book