Bossypants
By: Tina Fey
Get it, girl
Like a number of white girls my age, I think Tina Fey is pretty awesome. She’s funny, she’s smart, she’s a feminist, she’s not obnoxious, she’s straight-forward, and she’s normal. Because I hold her in such high regard, I had high hopes for her book, and I am happy to report she did not let me down.
Bossypants is basically a memoir, but it’s only vaguely chronological and it’s not a comprehensive life story. She begins with a few random stories about growing up, like her experience in the local community theater and how her facial scar nourished her celebrity-seeking personality, and although her story about her dad, Don Fey, the “boss, bold, bladed motherf*cker” was pretty amazing (as was realizing that he is not called Dad, Don, or Mr. Fey – just “Don Fey”), the book really hit its stride when she starts talking about her adult life – her time with Second City, writing for SNL, producing 30 Rock, and being a mom. (Sorry about that ridiculous run-on sentence)
Tina Fey writes like she talks, so there are plenty of laugh out loud moments in the book, such as when she realizes that the key difference between a male and female comedy writer is that one of them is more likely to pee in a jar and keep it in his office (Oops – I mean her office!). But she also manages to convey two slightly deeper points without turning preachy.
The first point is that its hard being a working mother (duh), even with all of the funds and resources she has available. She feels a lot of responsibility and stress from having to balance an insanely busy work life, where people depend on her for their livelihoods, with her desire to be a good mother to her daughter, and the guilt that naturally comes from the juggling act. Perfect example: in one week, she filmed the Oprah episode of 30 Rock, prepped for and delivered her first Sarah Palin impersonation on SNL, and planned her daughter’s third birthday party. Yeah, no problem. She realizes she can’t do it all well or do it all forever, so she’s trying to get as much out of it as possible for now.
The second point she makes is that women rock. She sings Amy Poehler’s praises throughout the book, she gives advice about dealing with jerky/sexist/stupid co-workers, and is just supportive of women going for it. I think she’s a little proud of what she’s accomplished given the barriers she had to overcome, but she’s not too proud – she’s relatable. Like I said, Tina Fey is awesome. Maybe she should be described as the “boss, bold, bladed motherf*cker”.
In a nutshell: Bossypants is a quick, funny read with some unexpected depth. I definitely recommend it, especially if you love TFey like I do. Four stars.
