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pattydsf's review
3.0
I have been seeing this book around since it was published. It seems to have stayed popular at least at my public library. I was looking for books to take with me for the weekend and decided to add this to my pile. I am glad I did.
I have known about the Mennonites for most of my life, but had never read anything about them. Janzen has an interesting story to tell because her father is well known in this community, but she has been living outside of it for awhile.
That combined with her divorce from her bi-polar husband makes for an interesting story. Fortunately, she is a good writer (has published several poetry books) and so not only is this interesting but well-written.
I enjoy reading memoirs when I learned new things about the world, when they include humor and when the author is not whining about her life. Janzen gave me all three parts of this equation and so I had a fun time reading about her life.
I have known about the Mennonites for most of my life, but had never read anything about them. Janzen has an interesting story to tell because her father is well known in this community, but she has been living outside of it for awhile.
That combined with her divorce from her bi-polar husband makes for an interesting story. Fortunately, she is a good writer (has published several poetry books) and so not only is this interesting but well-written.
I enjoy reading memoirs when I learned new things about the world, when they include humor and when the author is not whining about her life. Janzen gave me all three parts of this equation and so I had a fun time reading about her life.
ivanssister's review
2.0
I had a few audible laughing moments, but with a rave review on the cover about how hilarious it was, I guess it wasn't as funny as I expected. My rating says it all - just OK.
jellokites's review
2.0
I gave this book about half way through and just could not get into it. I cannot pinpoint what it was that made me dislike the book. It could have been the bouncing around from past to present within the same page, I honestly do not know. Maybe I am distracted, I don't know. LOL
ablotial's review
3.0
I'll be honest - I was disappointed with this book. Not that it was BAD, really, it just wasn't the amazingly hilarious book that it had been made out to be by people at multiple bookstores. I had three main complaints:
1) Most of the things in her past that she complains about are not particular to Mennonites. More or less, they are scenarios experienced in small towns, or in poorer families. I mean, what poor kid -didn't- have embarrassing lunches? Now, maybe they weren't THOSE particular lunches, with borscht and warm potato salad, but tins of spam or smelly egg salad or leftovers from last night that are now indistinguishable. The small town gossip, the being set up with the grandson of the old lady next door, etc. And they had a camper and went camping - they weren't so deprived. I wish WE could afford a camper!
2) The author seems to have trouble staying on topic. I found this interesting, because I often didn't notice it as it was happening. The story would flow from one topic to the next as things came up... but then it was as if she suddenly realized she had began the chapter on a different topic, so she would suddenly jump back there and I would be confused, or feel jolted. There was one chapter in particular where I got really confused where it begins in the past, but then suddenly the characters seem to know things they couldn't possibly know - and after being very confused for a few pages it becomes clear that she has jumped back to the present. I went back to look, there didn't seem to be any obvious sign of when it had happened.
3) The back of the book describes her husband leaving her for a guy named Bob who he met on gay.com, her horrible car accident and her mom suggesting she marry her cousin because he has a tractor -- so I thought these would be main events during the book. But they are all covered in a few pages in the first chapter. And also, I do not think her mom recommended her cousin BECAUSE he had a tractor. She just used the tractor, which, in typical fashion of her mother (and mine!) is no proof at all.
BUT! Some of the stories were amusing precisely BECAUSE I could relate to them. I really enjoyed the relationship between her and her mother, probably because it reminds me so much of the relationship I have with mine. I enjoyed learning a little more about Mennonite culture through reading the book - I admittedly knew very little about it before. She had a lot of good insights into religion and relationships that just "felt right" to me. And I am certainly copying the recipes into my recipe book :) So it wasn't a bad story. And had I not heard so much about how hilarious it was before reading it, I might even have liked it.
1) Most of the things in her past that she complains about are not particular to Mennonites. More or less, they are scenarios experienced in small towns, or in poorer families. I mean, what poor kid -didn't- have embarrassing lunches? Now, maybe they weren't THOSE particular lunches, with borscht and warm potato salad, but tins of spam or smelly egg salad or leftovers from last night that are now indistinguishable. The small town gossip, the being set up with the grandson of the old lady next door, etc. And they had a camper and went camping - they weren't so deprived. I wish WE could afford a camper!
2) The author seems to have trouble staying on topic. I found this interesting, because I often didn't notice it as it was happening. The story would flow from one topic to the next as things came up... but then it was as if she suddenly realized she had began the chapter on a different topic, so she would suddenly jump back there and I would be confused, or feel jolted. There was one chapter in particular where I got really confused where it begins in the past, but then suddenly the characters seem to know things they couldn't possibly know - and after being very confused for a few pages it becomes clear that she has jumped back to the present. I went back to look, there didn't seem to be any obvious sign of when it had happened.
3) The back of the book describes her husband leaving her for a guy named Bob who he met on gay.com, her horrible car accident and her mom suggesting she marry her cousin because he has a tractor -- so I thought these would be main events during the book. But they are all covered in a few pages in the first chapter. And also, I do not think her mom recommended her cousin BECAUSE he had a tractor. She just used the tractor
Spoiler
to "prove" that he wouldn't smoke potBUT! Some of the stories were amusing precisely BECAUSE I could relate to them. I really enjoyed the relationship between her and her mother, probably because it reminds me so much of the relationship I have with mine. I enjoyed learning a little more about Mennonite culture through reading the book - I admittedly knew very little about it before. She had a lot of good insights into religion and relationships that just "felt right" to me. And I am certainly copying the recipes into my recipe book :) So it wasn't a bad story. And had I not heard so much about how hilarious it was before reading it, I might even have liked it.
shlymiller's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Suicide, and Abandonment
pagesofpins's review
2.0
Anyone who comes from a small-town religious family and has ever looked around at their off kilter clan and whispered, "What is even HAPPENING right now?" will appreciate some of the solid-gold anecdotes in this book. That being said, the really great material in here could be chopped down to a book half the size, you need a strong appreciation for fart and pee jokes, and if she tells us one more time that her husband is an atheist who left her for a guy named Bob on Gay.com, SO HELP ME.