Tina Fey

I quite enjoyed this but not quite as much as I'd expected. I particularly enjoyed the bits about SNL, 30 Rock and the Sarah Palin impersonation. Maybe that's because these related to a period where Fey was happier and more confident, talking about a period of her life in which she is justifiably proud.

For me, much of the rest felt less certain - the humour a touch repetitive or laboured, maybe a certain passive aggressiveness creeping in - and that seemed to obscure some of the very interesting material.

Also the focus on her father seemed odd when his greatest asset seemed to be he was a snappy dresser. That's fair enough, but compared with the dearth of information about her mother (siblings?) it seemed odd. Maybe that was the point. Or the subtext. Or the unintended subtext. But it felt unbalanced, as did the long section on her honeymoon. It was amusing enough, but would be better suited to a short magazine story - while amusing it added little to the picture of Tina Fey.

As this came out at a similar time to Sarah Silverman's The Bedwetter, and is often recommended with it, a comparison is justified. Actually they're fairly similar. Both a touch sketchy, rather than comprehensive life histories. There's a bit more detail to Bossypants, but Bedwetter is more revelatory, more open. Perhaps less restrained, but better orgranised. Both very proud and protective of their shows' staffs, although Silverman talks a bit more about them. Both had a slight "better do this while people are interested" feel too. Overall both were good, but, while Fey's is more consistently good, I think Bedwetter was more viscerally felt by its author and is, for me, the better book. (But I prefer Fey's comedy).

I enjoyed this book, and am still a big Tina Fey fan, but I won't be pushing it on people.
… (altro)