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linda_don 's review for:
What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding: A Memoir
by Kristin Newman
This was a fast read: funny, and ultimately somewhat disappointing. Newman's travel stories focus on self-deprecating and bodily humor while occasionally touching on issues of self-esteem, commitment, and the narrowing availability of choices we face as we age. I wasn't looking for a political tract or a self-help novel, and this is my first foray into the modern travel memoir -- I've happily managed to avoid Eat, Pray, Love so far -- but I was surprised by how shallow I found this to be.
The near-complete silence in this book regarding money was also striking. I know that finances are personal, but so is sex, and there was lot of that in here. My best guess is that sex can easily be funny, whereas money is rarely made the subject of a joke by anyone who suspects they have more than the people they're talking to. (I should disclaim that like the author, I'm coming from a WASP-y American perspective; comfort levels with that humor could vary across cultures.) Perhaps Newman saw no value in including such an seemingly unfunny subject in what is meant to be, and is, a funny book.
Still, I know I'm not the only person who reads about trips and says -- okay, but how did they afford it? How did money affect them, if at all? As far as having "hobbies" or "experiences" go, travel is expensive. I don't want to see a W2, but a certain acknowledgement of finance would have been honest and reflective of the overall tone of the memoir.
The near-complete silence in this book regarding money was also striking. I know that finances are personal, but so is sex, and there was lot of that in here. My best guess is that sex can easily be funny, whereas money is rarely made the subject of a joke by anyone who suspects they have more than the people they're talking to. (I should disclaim that like the author, I'm coming from a WASP-y American perspective; comfort levels with that humor could vary across cultures.) Perhaps Newman saw no value in including such an seemingly unfunny subject in what is meant to be, and is, a funny book.
Still, I know I'm not the only person who reads about trips and says -- okay, but how did they afford it? How did money affect them, if at all? As far as having "hobbies" or "experiences" go, travel is expensive. I don't want to see a W2, but a certain acknowledgement of finance would have been honest and reflective of the overall tone of the memoir.