Product Description Margaret Smith, blithely disregarding the conventional wisdom that female comics must labor within proscribed borders, has gone her own way. What the New York Times wrote about Smith's award-winning stand-up routine is also true of Smith's new book. In this hilarious romp, one of America's senior comedic writers describes what she thought it would be like--and what it was really like-- to become a single Mother.
Customer Reviews:
What Sedaris, Lebowitz and Dave Eggers should aspire to. December 20, 2005 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Margaret Smith is a one-of-a-kind comedian. Her off-kilter worldview and dry-as-dust delivery is fresh and real in a world of grinning comedy clones. My favorite Margaret Smith-ism goes something like "I saw my mother today. (long pause) Its okay, she didn't see me." I'm not always able to catch her on tv like I used to, so I was delighted to hear she'd written a book.
The cover says the book's about becoming a mother, but you won't find overly sweet sentimentality here. Smith makes looking on the dark side into an art form. Her story is dark and horrific, and she pulls no punches when writing about, violence, abuse, racism, tomatoes, and her calling plan. Only Margaret Smith could make comedy of this. But she pulls it off astonishingly well - deftly balancing tragedy and humor. Ultimately, it's not a story about adopting a baby, it's a heartfelt tale of spiritual redemption. I know that doesn't sound very funny, but it really is.
We need more from Margaret Smith.. November 19, 2005 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I had overheard some people talking about this book and how much they liked it, so I decided to see if Margaret Smith was as good a writer as she is a comedian. She is. The book is poignantly funny and sad at the same time. Margaret Smith is a great comedian and I admire her for the way she takes sadness and turns it inside out to find the humor in it.
Very Funny, Sometimes Dark, Laugh out Loud November 4, 2005 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I heard the Author on an NPR Radio Show talking about this book. The interview was funny and it motivated me to buy the book. It was an easy an enjoyable read. Laughed many times out loud. It felt alot like a David Sedaris style of writing. The humor sometimes dark. I especially liked her childhood stories. If you grew up with Mary Poppins and Ward Cleaver as parents you might not find this humorous, but I didn't, and I did find this book very funny. Lauren
Lauren
Not funny at all, unfortunately November 3, 2005 1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I bought this book thinking it would be filled with zippy one-liners and good-humored stories about raising a happy kid on your own while keeping on top of a successful career. The title made me expect I'd be entertained. I had hoped for something in the style of Erma Bombeck as a Single Mom. This book is not that at all.
Instead, it's the story of the author's tragic childhood in a family that was dysfunctional and brutal. The author spends pages and pages describing her relationship with her mother, beatings by her stepfather/uncle and years of therapy. It's heartbreaking stuff. Margaret Smith also weaves in chapters about her failed artificial insemination and her success at adopting her beloved baby boy. None if it was at all humorous.
Margaret Smith writes well and her story is honest. It's just not one I felt like reading after I put my daughter to bed after working all day. If anyone knows of any books about the funny side of single parenting, please post the titles. In the mean time, I'll just reread Ariel's Gore Hip Mama Guide.
so funny I read it twice October 26, 2005 1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I don't know if it's because I feel like a single mom or if just anyone with children or wanting to have children would appreciate it but this book was hilarious. It reminded me of reading Anne Lemott only more dry and painful. At times I was embarrassed that I was laughing and grateful that no one was in the room so I wouldn't have to explain what was so funny, because part of me was sure it was wrong to be laughing. Any way this was a great read!
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