Sara Barron

People may be unappealing but this book was anything but. These short chapters are funny and so close to my experiences. Sara Barron is hilarious, honest and someone I would like to know. Her mother is a hypochondriac therapist with her own copy of Merck's Manual, her father is a man who loves musicals. Sara describes them as Bea Arthur (mom) and Estelle Getty (dad) of the Golden Girls. Sara grows up with a love of the theater (actually, it is the attention she craves). She goes to a show more downtown Manhattan university and gets an MFA. Her dad is thrilled and her mom is appeased by the fact that "at least its not cancer". Sara is gifted with enthusiasm but little talent so she gets a job waiting tables at a restaurant she calls 'Hell'. Sara ends her book by talking about an encounter she had with a celeb she calls Madrid Days Inn (not her real name, can you guess what it is?) that delighted and repelled me. This book is not for the faint of heart - one review calls it "A wickedly funny and dirty treasure trove of modern day odd-balls."

April 2012 show less

While slow to start, "People Are Unappealing: Even Me" eventually delves into Sara Barron's adult life, where she ventures briefly into a career as a Coyote (of the "Ugly" variety), a not-so-successful standup comedian for bachlorettes, and a waitress to the celebrities, including the infamous "Twat Waffle". This book has short, easily digestible stories. I especially enjoyed the chapter on her online dating adventures. A good, quick read overall.

I was asking for trouble when I decided to read this book. Sara is not my generation. I knew that going in. I am not her anticipated audience. I knew that. She makes a living by writing to startle people a little. I knew that.

What was I thinking?

It was a painful read. Barron is blunt and it’s hard for people of my generation to listen people of hers, who appear to have slid through life without facing of the real issues of, say, people who don’t have clean water in Africa, and yet who show more whine endlessly about the little disappointments of the universe. I had to keep reminding myself that little disappointments can feel like lack of clean water, perhaps. show less

I felt this humorous memoir started out strong with some giggles and one or two laugh out loud moments, but it began to fade midway through and finished with a whimper rather than a bang.