You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'
Is It Hot in Here (or Am I Suffering for All Eternity for the Sins I Committed on Earth)? by Zach Zimmerman
1 review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
A collection of memoir-ish essays, telling random stories from Zimmerman’s life. I’ve never seen his comedy but the title and cover seemed fun so I randomly picked it up from the library.
It started off well, with a lot of humor and relatability. Laughed out loud when he talked about papa John’s garlic sauce (one of the few non-people things I miss about the US) 😂 I was especially drawn to his discussions on his conservative, religious upbringing and unpacking of religious trauma but wish it had delved deeper (in both this and really all topics).
The essays were detached and trying to be more funny than emotionally intimate which makes sense for a comedian I suppose. But at one point the humor wasn’t working for me anymore-which as a small positive helped me in my constant “Am I really autistic?” battles as it took me a few essays before realizing a sentence 20 pages ago was a sarcastic joke 💀 All that to say the jokes didn’t always land for me and I couldn’t always tell what was a joke and what was meant to be his actual beliefs. For example: The mention of "big sugar trying to make us addicted by adding sugar to everything" was weird and I’m still not sure if he was joking or being serious.
It started off well, with a lot of humor and relatability. Laughed out loud when he talked about papa John’s garlic sauce (one of the few non-people things I miss about the US) 😂 I was especially drawn to his discussions on his conservative, religious upbringing and unpacking of religious trauma but wish it had delved deeper (in both this and really all topics).
The essays were detached and trying to be more funny than emotionally intimate which makes sense for a comedian I suppose. But at one point the humor wasn’t working for me anymore-which as a small positive helped me in my constant “Am I really autistic?” battles as it took me a few essays before realizing a sentence 20 pages ago was a sarcastic joke 💀 All that to say the jokes didn’t always land for me and I couldn’t always tell what was a joke and what was meant to be his actual beliefs. For example: The mention of "big sugar trying to make us addicted by adding sugar to everything" was weird and I’m still not sure if he was joking or being serious.
While it had its funny or relatable moments, it ultimately fell a bit flat and didn’t go deeper as the book went on. It was a fun read and one I don’t regret but it’s also not pushing me toward watching his stand-up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse