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alekswhite's review against another edition
4.0
This is brutally honest, unequivocally funny and excitingly fresh. I really enjoyed reading through Hardy's sprawling tangential anecdotes. If you're a fan of comedic, leftist humour and heartfelt memoirs, this is your cup of tea.
The only thing that I didn't like was the inclusion of Bob Ellis' memoir because he's a disgusting misogynist and ok, everyone has their idols but really Marieke!?
The only thing that I didn't like was the inclusion of Bob Ellis' memoir because he's a disgusting misogynist and ok, everyone has their idols but really Marieke!?
sophward's review against another edition
5.0
This was hilarious and quirky, and very moving. I already loved Marieke but now she is one of my favourite people on the planet. Such a wonderful read :)
jm_donellan's review against another edition
5.0
This really was one of the best autobiographies/memoirs/collections of essays I've ever read. Traversing territory from heartbreaking to hilarious, you feel almost like a voyeur for reading. Hardy lays not only her heart on her sleeve, but her liver, kidneys and grey matter too. She can be both insightfully witty and achingly poignant. It's a rare thing for a writer to be able to successfully depict such a broad spectrum of human emotion. I loved this book like it was a person that I wanted to become best friends with, having champagne picnics under fireworks and then subsequent hungover breakfasts of entire packets of oreos and bloody Marys. I want you to read this book too, and then talk about it with me and we can be best friends and perform the aforementioned activities.
fionacalda's review against another edition
1.0
Self-indulgent, narcissistic. Every new experience she has she faces with drunkenness or scorn. Didn't finish this, waste of time. Ms Hardy, no I won't be sorry.
softandcrunchy's review against another edition
2.0
I watch Hardy every month on First Tuesday Book Club so I was very interested to read a series of essays about her life, and to discover whether I would enjoy her writing. It’s too bad then that I found a lot of this book a bit like watching Sex and the City. It was mostly entertaining, and tried to be funny and titillating, but ended up being very uninteresting.
It’s not that she can’t write. She’s good at constructing sentences and holding a thread, and for the most part her writing is quite witty, even if her witticisms are a little repetitive. It’s just that there’s only so much I can read about rebellious privileged (and libidinous) twenty and thirty-somethings rampaging around fashionable Melbourne suburbs.
My favourite chapter in the book is 'Maroon and blue', where she recounts her early obsession with the Fitzroy football club. In this story, she's managed to let go of her branded style to develop an easy rhythm to her writing and an unselfconscious honesty that some of the other chapters lack.
It’s not that she can’t write. She’s good at constructing sentences and holding a thread, and for the most part her writing is quite witty, even if her witticisms are a little repetitive. It’s just that there’s only so much I can read about rebellious privileged (and libidinous) twenty and thirty-somethings rampaging around fashionable Melbourne suburbs.
My favourite chapter in the book is 'Maroon and blue', where she recounts her early obsession with the Fitzroy football club. In this story, she's managed to let go of her branded style to develop an easy rhythm to her writing and an unselfconscious honesty that some of the other chapters lack.
johanna_gleeson's review against another edition
4.0
Nearly finished this one. Laugh out loud funny but a bit weird. It's not really an autobiography, it's 10 very disjointed short stories. Particularly interested as they all take place in Brunswick or immediate surrounding suburbs, and most are focussed on her 'early 20's'.
lucyblack's review against another edition
2.0
Marieke Hardy comes across as
rude
shallow
obnoxious
arrogant
try hard
lewd
she also seems pretty
smart
funny
likeable
popular
fun
the first list outweighs the second list for me tho. I did finish the book but I kindof wish I hadn't cos the bit at the end by Bob Ellis (who?) was really fucking grosse.
rude
shallow
obnoxious
arrogant
try hard
lewd
she also seems pretty
smart
funny
likeable
popular
fun
the first list outweighs the second list for me tho. I did finish the book but I kindof wish I hadn't cos the bit at the end by Bob Ellis (who?) was really fucking grosse.
ghostofyesterday's review against another edition
4.0
Marieke Hardy is my new hero. Her writing is hilarious, touching, honest and beautifully prosaic and as a woman tired of the cliches perpetuated by most female writers, "You'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead" is an affirmation that I'm doing ok.