Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation

This is a book I find it really hard to review. For starters If you don't know who Hannah Gadsby is, you probably ought to see the Netflix version of Nanette first. It provides a lot of context that you would probably gain insight from. I'm really grateful that this version of the book is narrated by the author. I think it would lose a lot of its oomph if someone else was narrating it for her.. it just wouldn't fit.

Nanette and the story of the creation thereof, is an exercise (exorcise) in trauma, in violence and exclusion meted out upon a Neurodivergent (in her case Autistic ADHD) lesbian woman from Tasmania (in Australia). There is profanity and no holds barred descriptions of medicalised womanhood, sexual assault, rape, bad dad jokes, and physical violence. The whole thing is designed to be in your face, because too may people just don't engage with the things that happen to you if you are underprivileged.

As a result this book is full of jabs at cis-het-white-men.. but that is because it's less problematic to "punch up" than down. Gadsby is deliberately seeking to subvert the form of comedy, to parody the man-and-the-mic standup look, and to kick the audience in the gut with a bit of a wakeup call.

Yes of course I am biased. I'm also a vagina wielding Autistic f*** up. I know how it is. Life doesn't ever really stop breaking you, but you do tend to learn survival skills along the way. I own my privilege.. there are plenty of things that I have going for me that mean that people take me seriously. I'm not brown, I spell conventionally.. I can define conventionally.. my parents were both together in their own home before my mother died and I inherited enough to buy my own mortgage (lucky me!) So yes, I am biased in my opinion of this book, but I like to think that it's because I am the target audience. I see my like, in Hannah Gadsby. She's about my age, also brought up in the Antipodes, and she wrote this book for the brethren and sistren who have also dealt with being othered for their sex, gender, presentation, sexual orientation, neurotype, sensitivities, and benign differences.

Bloody good book.

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anomiques's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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burdasnest's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I know this memoir details the ways in which Hannah Gadsby's brain has not been historically valued, but truly no other brain could have produced this funny, subversive, relatable, trauma-dumpster-fire of a work. I truly believe their unique way of thinking has gotten at intersectional issues that have yet to be recognized academically, all while just trying to take up their proper space in the world and reduce the burden of trauma for people to come.

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pantherguin's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Great book, narrated by the author themselves. Thoroughly enjoyed. Highly recommend.

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jnlundy's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

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ren_the_hobbit's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny informative medium-paced

5.0

Hannah Gadsby is my hero, simply put. Her journey was difficult to read because of the hardships, but she gave me courage and hope I can be myself one day. If you have any trauma, I do recommend reading the trigger warnings and treating yourself kindly as you read.

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sarahelem's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

5.0

What a bloody fantastic read. I loved Nanette and reading Gadsby's mémoir solidified my appreciation and love for this comedian and author (and human). The way she talks about misogyny in comedy, queer rights, and neurodiversity is poignant and provides essential content on these matters. A must read, in my opinion.

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