A review by beaniebookbagel
My Misspent Youth: Essays by Meghan Daum

3.0

I'm still trying to figure out what I think about this. I hated "American Shiksa"; it could've been a brilliant satire but went a little haywire. The first few essays were well done; Daum's great at wrapping up her essays. She reminds me a lot of Didion (I know, what a refreshing, nuanced comparison). It's interesting to watch her strike a balance between detachment and investment. She claims the theme of this collection is the temptation of trappings to serve as life itself, and that much is evident, especially in essays like the titular one, where her whole life was constructed to land her in New York, living a certain kind of life, one that she vastly misunderstands. Her observations about debt in the '90s ring true today, and the end offers a touch of redemption. I'm interested in who ultimately decided the order of the collection, as it seemed to climb upward, plummet, and then plateau, until I could barely remember what I'd read in the beginning. I'd rather read Sloane Crosley, but I don't hate this book. 3.5 stars, if I could. Three for now.