Bossypants Book Review

Dear Tina Fey,

I couldn't stop laughing. My dad is a southern version of yours.

Sincerely,
Melissa LaCross

P.S. I've never actually watched 30 Rock, but I hope to if it's on Netflix.

Some favorite quotes from Bossypants:

"What Turning Forty Means to Me: I need to take my pants off as soon as I get home. I didn't used to have to do that. But now I do" (265). *

"I searched the audience for him(dad) during the sixth-grade chorus concert and, seeing his stern expression, was convinced that he had seen me messing up the words to the Happy Days theme and that I was in big trouble. I spent the rest of the concert suppressing terror burps, only to be given a big hug and a kiss afterward. It took me years to realize, Oh, that's just his face" (46). 

"'Remember when we saw Titanic how mad I was at Kate WInslet when say what? climbed out of the lifeboat and back onto the ship? I think say what? encumbered Leonardo DiCaprio. If say what? had gone on the lifeboat, then he could have had that piece of wood say what? was floating on and they both would have survived. I would never do that to you" (101). 

"On Wednesday night, Alice and I drew a picture of Peter Pan to hang up at the party. I explained to her the apparent licensing problem with the plates. Say what? was understanding and suggested we relax by pretending to be Wendy and a mermaid for the next sixty-five minutes" (204). 

"Also, my crying three times a year doesn't distract me from my job any more than my male coworkers get distracted watching March Madness or shooting one another with Nerf guns" (258-259). 

"First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches" (261). 

"There is no one of-woman-born who does not like Red Lobster cheddar biscuits. Anyone who claims otherwise is a liar and a Socialist" (252). 

"Also, I encourage them (young women who want career advice) to always wear a bra. Even if you don't think you need it, just...you know what? You're never going to regret it" (88).

*I feel this way at 27. By 40 I will be wearing track suits daily.

Let me just say this book made me wish I was hilarious. Moments of literal laughing out loud were frequent, and Tyler finally stopped asking me what was happening because he was tired of my one-liners from the book, which were hilarious in context, but didn't make as much sense to him without me reading 2 whole pages. He wasn't really up for that.

One of the things I really admire about Tina Fey is how she broke into comedy, a world typically dominated by men, and made a name for herself and for women as writers and comedians. Of course, she did all of this while being a wife and mom. I definitely don't envy the hours she works each week, but instead how she really loves what she does both at home and at work.

I honestly didn't have expectations going into this book, as I don't watch 30 Rock and have had so few experiences with SNL, though I've enjoyed the skits I have seen. I really enjoyed the story of her life growing up because she was nerdy and awkward, which I can totally relate to, and so that part of her life kept me really entertained. I like the chapters highlighting one particularly crazy week in her life (where she played Sarah Palin and simultaneously worked on 30 Rock, met Oprah, and hosted her daughter's birthday), but some of the other work stuff wasn't as interesting to me. With celebrities, hearing about their relatively "normal" personal lives and management skills intrigues me the most. I also really loved her beauty tips and pointers for photo shoots.

Fey's book celebrates working women and achieving dreams others often think aren't possible. If you are not a fan of SNL or are uncomfortable with the language used on the show, you shouldn't read this book. As Fey has been a writer on SNL, not surprisingly, the language in the book mirrors that of the show. There were moments where I felt some of it was completely unnecessary, but having lived through public high school and college, I have learned to overlook what comes out of peoples' mouths. She didn't have nearly as many F-bombs as "Next To Normal," the play I went to see a few weekends ago.

If you've thought about wanting to read it, go ahead and do it! If you want to be entertained and don't mind language you wouldn't want your elementary school kid to hear, read it. If you don't answer yes to any of the above, avoid it at all costs.

Tigers in Red Weather

Disillusionment of Ten O'Clock Wallace Stevens

The houses are haunted
By white night-gowns.
None are green,
Or purple with green rings,
Or green with yellow rings,
Or yellow with blue rings.
None of them are strange,
With socks of lace
And beaded ceintures.
People are not going
To dream of baboons and periwinkles.
Only, here and there, an old sailor,
Drunk and asleep in his boots,
Catches Tigers
In red weather. 

The lines of Wallace Steven's poems clench the meaning and depth of Liza Klaussman's book, Tigers in Red Weather. The June issue of Whole Living magazine featured a write-up about Tigers in Red Weather. Klaussmann released the book this summer, and being the historical fiction nerd that I am, I decided to immediately request it from the library in Charlotte. I really hope I was the first to read it.

I love Wallace Steven's poetry, "The Emperor of Ice Cream" being my favorite, and I find it most interesting to try and decipher the seemingly random things he puts into his poems. The theme of dreams plays a really important part throughout Klaussmann's book but not the kind of unconscious dreams we have at night. The book plays on fantasies and daydreams, characters' aspirations, and their desires becoming or not becoming reality.

Klaussmann bases the story around a house, called Tiger House, off the coast of Massachusetts (presumably Martha's Vineyard because of the reference to the proximity of Chappaquiddick) during the 1950s and 1960s. It's post WWII, everything has changed. Marriages have changed, lives have changed, and moms popped out baby boomers like nobody's business. To me it seemed as if the red weather could have been referencing the time period, the red scares, the threat of communism, but probably it references one particular character's personal domination over almost every relationship she possessed. The story focused on Tiger House, but also members of the family who inhabited it.

The true Tiger is one of the characters, Nick, a 1950s housewife who has "it." Everyone flocks to her, is controlled by her, hates her, and can't help but follow what she says and does. Nick is the driving force behind most actions in the story. Her passion chews up and spits out many of the other characters in the story. She avoids most of the messes she creates and truly focuses on her self and her desires.

My favorite aspect of Tigers in Red Weather was how Klaussmann played with the bounds of truth and reality through character perspective. The book is divided into different sections, each from the perspective of a different character in the story: Nick, Daisy, Helena, Hughes, and Ed. All the events in each of the sections reflect the specific period in the life of Tiger House. However, I was so surprised by the lack of repetition. I wasn't bored or confident I knew what would happen next, but hung on to each moment, shocked by the story and lack of understanding of each character. The book gave an adequate description of how people's perceptions, experiences, and thought processes lead to conflict and resolution not just within the story, but also within real life. The audience gets the best picture of "truth," though it's patch-worked together in the reader's mind. Meanwhile, the characters wander around in their own personal oblivion, grasping at conclusions that don't fit together with what's happening. Klaussmann definitely calls into question the ability of a single human to really understand something based on their own faulty human brain.

The book is pretty tumultuous and crazy. There is also some unexpected violence towards women, but it really challenges people to think back to epic moments of life or any conflict and reflect on the different angles of the situation. I was enthralled.