Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death by Laurie Notaro -- Book Review



A funny, light collection of new essays from New York Times bestselling author Laura Notaro fills the pages of The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death. Her reflections on revenge, germophobis, laser hair removal and more, will have you laughing out loud, and curious onlookers asking what you're reading.

I'm fairly certain if I opted for laser hair removal, my experience would match Notaro's, if not be worse--which is probably why I'll never try it. Oh, and by the way, my primary care physician is equally as attractive as the author's own, Dr Wells; so I especially related to this essay, as I did with the essays about her pets.

The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death is a well-written page-turner, but admittedly not my typical style of reading material. Notaro's writing has been described as "gorily specific" and "raunchy". I would definitely agree, which took away from some of the reading experience for me. I was looking for Erma Bombeck, but found a vulgar and obscene Erma filling the pages.

The overabundance of the terms "a**hole" and "tweaker" (I still don't know what the latter is, but I know it's not complimentary) became tiresome after a bit; and while I could easily relate to how Notaro feels about the spreading of germs, her grotesque descriptions meant I wasn't going to be eating while reading the book.

I'm certain many people will enjoy this book, including the legions of Laurie Notaro fans who have purchased her previous installments; it just didn't reach me personally--which is okay because it's still uproariously funny.




Title: The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death
Author: Laurie Notaro
Publisher: Villard Books
ISBN: 978-0-8129-7574-1
SRP: $14.00 (U.S.)

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