Samantha Irby started out as a blogger many years ago and not only has become a funny essayist but also a sought-after television writer. Her essays can be raw, but with very good reason. She seems to always find herself in the most awkward, uncomfortable situations, enough to well, write a book! I adore her! She is never afraid to tell us about the good, the bad, and the smelly!
Her humor comes by way of a strange life, with a mother who was ill and a father who was gone. Later in life as she relays in this book that she discovers a stepbrother and others she never knew existed. The toll from her childhood not only formed who she is today, but estranged her from her sister, but that’s okay.
Embarrassment is Irby’s middle name. And that’s what makes this book so good. Irby’s internal dialogue with herself is hysterical, enlightening but also empathizing. Her book dedication says it all…open the book, just for that!
Her essays touch on very relatable topics as how she and her wife had to adjust to living with each other, such as the day Irby opened the refrigerator and discovered all these new and odd healthy food items, but she also had to get use to a couple of stepchildren and how to deal with them. Her advice is priceless!
One of her essays honestly is a true test of embarrassment when she seems to have taken, eaten, or smelled something which sent her to the hospital with anaphylactic shock and all that came before her visit, and during the visit, only to find out that typical Irby, she has no idea what caused the problem.
She and her wife, like many during the pandemic, decided to adopt a dog, but each time they found one it was always taken. And then her wife found one, which Irby was not too keen on and life as they knew it would never be the same!
For anyone interested in writing for television, she gives a detailed description of how to write a pilot and all that entails…years and when the final production is finished only be told we’ll pass.
But for me, the BEST essay is the one in which she breaks down old Sex and the City episodes. Irby, now a writer for And Just Like That, gives her take on what she believes should have happened in the episodes and why. ( I read this essay twice because it was hysterical)!
The title Quietly Hostile fits Irby’s personality perfectly. She doesn’t have a lot to say outwardly, but her inside dialogue fits all of us to a tee!
Thank you #NetGalley #Vintage #SamanthaIrby #QuietlyHostile for the advanced copy.
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