Reviews

Wow, there are a lot of trolls in the ratings already, aren't there?

This is a difficult read the way Nanette was difficult: it's extremely raw, the subject matter is at times brutal, parts are a bit too long and rambly, and Hannah Gadsby doesn't care what you think of her and that comes across. (Plus the book comes with the added bonus of discovering that, as bad as one might have thought rural America was in the '90s if you were weird or different or god forbid queer, Tasmania was even worse!) But it's also good and important in the same way: funny and insightful, voicelessness given voice.

If you like Hannah Gadsby's work, you will like this.

If you don't: well, in some cases it appears to mean that you have a compulsion that causes you to rate books you haven't read one star before they've even come out. Are you okay? You should really talk to someone. Hannah has some good stories about how therapy helps.

moffmaam's review against another edition

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5.0

I don’t often listen to audiobooks because I struggle to concentrate on them but in this case I’m so glad I chose to listen rather than read as I don’t think I would have (or could have) engaged with it nearly as much in written form. To give a proper review of this would be to wound myself in order to add my voice to an ocean of louder, more articulate voices. Suffice to say, it was raw and powerful and I’m not sure if the correct word for what I feel towards Hannah is grateful but we’ll go with that.

catcherinthepi's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

This was a delightful read. Sticky at times, but it was a really honest look into Gadsby's brain. I'm really glad they didn't hold back on letting us into how they think as well as all the emotions they have around many parts of their life, from their relationship with their mother, to traumatic events, to growing up clearly "different" but not really understanding "why" until later. This was one of the most immersive memoirs I've ever read.

Probably my favorite part was the context insertions. The way that was done was humorous, but as a non-Australian it was a helpful timeline. Gadsby's special interest is art history, where context is very important, and I wish more memoir writers actively acknowledged the historical context of their lives!

I also found it...helpful? interesting? insightful? struggling for a good adjective here...how it took them well into adulthood to figure out their autism and ADHD diagnoses; while I'm not neurodivergent, I think this will validate a lot of people's lived experiences, especially for AFAB people. While there wasn't as much gender stuff as I hoped for in this book, I personally found the little bits of it validating, and it fit in with how Gadsby has described themself.

gay's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.75

readlikeitsmyjob's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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