Book
Book Review: Let's Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
by Isa Hernandez
Every teenager wants to fit in and be just like everybody else. So imagine how hard that is when your father runs a taxidermy business out of the family home, your mother runs the student cafeteria, and your sister has just been elected high school mascot, which means she walks the halls in a giant bird costume. But as Jenny Lawson grows up, falls in love, gets engaged – in a way that is as disastrous as it is romantic – and starts a family of her own, she learns that life’s most absurd and humiliating moments are the very same moments that make us who we are. From radon-poisoned well-water to taxidermy Cuban alligators, this biography has made me realize that life can be so much more if we try hard enough.
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened is a compilation of the weirdest and funniest moments in the life of the author, a woman who has been battling several mental illnesses since childhood. Along with wacky tales of growing up in a small town in Texas and adulthood, Lawson also talks about what it’s like to have all of these different mental illnesses; what and how they hold her back, what it’s like to raise her daughter, and how life is for her now.
Most of my love for this book stems from how Lawson switches back and forth between childhood memories and adult ones, but it isn't confusing. She tends to wander off in another direction when she’s talking about a memory, and begins describing something else that happened to her recently or further back, but in a way that is more entertaining than messy. She always ends up where she left off, and has a way of making her crazy memories seem like something completely relatable.
Another reason I love this biography is that the author intentionally over-exaggerates certain parts of each event so that the people involved can say, “Oh, well that never happened,” and, “But I remember it like this,” or, “Oh, no, no, it’s fine, we didn’t toss her out of a moving car when she was eight.” (And they would be right, because apparently she was nine.) The author does this without telling us when or where she alters the stories, so only the people in her life really know if they were involved.
As a general overview, I give this book 4.5/5 stars (.5 taken for not including embarrassing childhood photos), and suggest this book to people who enjoy the human moments, very vague/sus memories, and thoughts you wouldn’t dare to say out loud.
Sounds like both a great and comedic book!! I usually have trouble differentiating whether the author is talking in present or past tense in novels, but it seems like I might have better luck with this book. Great and informative review!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds quite interesting and a little unusual! I really liked your descriptions of the autobiography's quirks and wonder if the over-exaggerated parts were every confusing or if they were similar to the parts where Lawson switched between childhood and adult memories. Overall, I really enjoyed your review and can't wait until your next blog post.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds like a unique and fun read! I love books that go back and forth between the past and the present, so that caught my attention. I do wonder if it was confusing when the author exaggerates the events. The main character sounds complex, which is another detail I love.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t read this book yet, but I keep seeing it around and wondering what it’s about. I love the way you describe the book as full of random moments that are frustrating yet hilarious. It’s really interesting that the author combined comedy and mental health, especially because those aren’t usually written about together. Thank you so much for the book review, I hope I get the chance to read it!
ReplyDeleteThis seems like quite a comical book that carries many hidden messages. Looking for those should be fun!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! Let's Pretend this Never Happened sounds very interesting and funny. I'll make sure to check out this book soon!
ReplyDeleteThis book seems very interesting and unique. I am glad that the author did not try to just put in the funny parts of memories and leave out mentions of her mental illness. This sounds like a fantastic read and I hope she releases some embarrassing photos soon!
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