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A review by somanybookstoread
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
2.0
This book irritated me. Glennon Doyle offers worthwhile messages about being still, embracing life during challenges, not conforming, and having confidence in who you are, regardless of what anyone else thinks. I am sure many people got a lot out of this book, and for that reason, more power to her and her followers.
But my god, Doyle’s voice is not one I want to hear. Her tone is irritating, self-assured, and at times completely obnoxious. She lectures (yes, that’s the verb I want) with such condescension, as though she knows everything about everything and we have so much to learn from her. She is too loud on the page, so very repetitive and placating. At times, I felt like I was enduring the rants of what could only be a delusional narcissist and that I needed to keep my distance to avoid absorbing that toxicity. Her humor, of the type I would smile at to be polite, consistently fell flat for me. She is completely full of herself, but at least she owns that. She makes a point of defining humility for her reader, but utterly misses the point as to why it is a worthwhile value.
The structure of the book is nonsensical. If I were her editor, I’d say “Glennon, all of these short essays essentially say the same thing. They don’t build upon one another. Have confidence that your reader is smart enough to understand your message without you repeating it so many times.” But I am not her editor, and I’d be willing to bet she cannot be told a thing about the ways her writing can be improved.
The Elizabeth Gilbert friendship makes perfect sense. In fact, I predicted that before I read it. I wonder if she’s also friends with Cheryl Strayed? They all offer the same boldly delivered, self-absorbed “lessons” that don’t resonate with me due to their conceited delivery.
People talked a lot about this book. I get it. Here you’ll find an unapologetic boldness coupled with social media style, Gen Z language. This sells. She has worthwhile things to say, I just can’t stomach how she says them. She is not for me, and I would be willing to make a large bet that she would be totally fine with that.
Write on and be happy, Glennon Doyle. You have certainly found your tribe.
But my god, Doyle’s voice is not one I want to hear. Her tone is irritating, self-assured, and at times completely obnoxious. She lectures (yes, that’s the verb I want) with such condescension, as though she knows everything about everything and we have so much to learn from her. She is too loud on the page, so very repetitive and placating. At times, I felt like I was enduring the rants of what could only be a delusional narcissist and that I needed to keep my distance to avoid absorbing that toxicity. Her humor, of the type I would smile at to be polite, consistently fell flat for me. She is completely full of herself, but at least she owns that. She makes a point of defining humility for her reader, but utterly misses the point as to why it is a worthwhile value.
The structure of the book is nonsensical. If I were her editor, I’d say “Glennon, all of these short essays essentially say the same thing. They don’t build upon one another. Have confidence that your reader is smart enough to understand your message without you repeating it so many times.” But I am not her editor, and I’d be willing to bet she cannot be told a thing about the ways her writing can be improved.
The Elizabeth Gilbert friendship makes perfect sense. In fact, I predicted that before I read it. I wonder if she’s also friends with Cheryl Strayed? They all offer the same boldly delivered, self-absorbed “lessons” that don’t resonate with me due to their conceited delivery.
People talked a lot about this book. I get it. Here you’ll find an unapologetic boldness coupled with social media style, Gen Z language. This sells. She has worthwhile things to say, I just can’t stomach how she says them. She is not for me, and I would be willing to make a large bet that she would be totally fine with that.
Write on and be happy, Glennon Doyle. You have certainly found your tribe.