b0hemian_graham 's review for:

Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned" by Lena Dunham

2.0

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I am not a Lena Dunham fan, nor did this book convince me to become a fan. I just can't connect to Dunham and the characters she presents, both fictionally, and in real life. I don't think this book provides evidence that she is a pedophile, which is the latest and greatest controversy surrounding her, but I did find this book to be rather sad and horrible. Dunham's basically a real life Adrian Mole, but female, which, unlike Adrian Mole, isn't funny. It's because unlike Adrian Mole, this is not fictional, although it reads way too much like fiction. It's probably why I have such a hard time with the book, because I want it to be fiction, and not real. Terrible things happen to her, and she behaves in a terrible fashion, and she tries to pass them off a hilarious, which makes them more sad and horrible than they actually are. It's like Dunham is trying to hard to please everyone, and to see edgy and fascinating. I respect Dunham for her achievments, and the fact she wrote this book, but I don't like her or her work, because, despite being in the same age demographic, she appears to be living in a special bubble, and her life experiences do not necessarily mirror my own. I find her to be narcissistic, pushy, naive, and selfish.

I don't like all the misogynist bullshit thrown at her, as 95% of the criticism thrown at her is based on the fact she is female, not an ideal body type, and she's different. It's disappointing that people feel the need to tear her down on those things.

For a better female "coming of age" book, check out Caitlin Moran's fictional How to Build a Girl, as it was far more entertaining and seemed way more realistic than the realistic prose Dunham presents here.