Dawn French

This is a fun story woven around first-world problems in New York City. It is very well-written, with believable characters and a great sense of the location. The plot is a bit absurd but I daresay odder things have happened. Lightweight but very wise in parts.

Dawn French (one half of the British comedy duo, French and Saunders) may be one of the funniest women alive today. The other funniest woman alive today is Jennifer Saunders, the other half of French and Saunders. For those not familiar with either, they have had a successful run at BBC with their variety show, French and Saunders; Dawn French may be best known for her role in The Vicar of Dibley; Jennifer Saunders is probably best know for her role as Edina in Absolutely Fabulous; both have show more also starred in shows too numerous to list here. And every single show that I have seen them in has been top notch.

Dear Fatty is Dawn French's memoir. Like anything that French does, her memoir is frequently laugh-out-loud funny. What surprised me most about her memoir is how unflinchingly honest she is throughout. She relates her life, both its ups and downs, as best she remembers it. Written in the form of letters to her friends and loved ones, Dear Fatty touches on the funny and the sad in French's life. For instance, one letter is to her father, who committed suicide when she was 19, and in one paragraph that goes on for almost two pages, she asks him questions. Why he did what he did; why didn't he ask for help; etc. By the end of this particular letter, I'm not ashamed to say that I had tears in my eyes. Her frustration of 30 years of unanswered questions is so evident, and she does nothing to hide that. Of course, not wanting to keep her readers in too serious a mood, she immediately segues into far more lighthearted material, but that honesty is there and it can be raw and emotional, and I respect her all the more for it.

I never doubted her ability to write; watch any of her sketches or shows, and it's obvious she has a talent, and she excels at proving that over and over again in her book. One of my favorite lines from the book is:
‎

"It's a process of having faith in the self you don't quite know you are yet... Believing that you will find the strength, the means somehow, and trusting in that..."

Words that speak volumes to me in my life right now.

I don't that many people would rush out to buy this book. First off, I'm not even sure it's available in the US yet, and secondly, I don't know that anyone who isn't a fan of Dawn French would really care all that much. But for those of us who are fans, this is a gem of a book, and even if you aren't a fan of Dawn French, I still think you'd find this a funny and revealing look into the life of one of the funniest ladies out there right now.

Highly recommended. show less

Told in journal form by three characters – a mother and her two adolescent children, this book is quite funny. Take one child psychologist going through a mid-life crisis and who can’t see the forest for the trees, a seventeen year old daughter who is as confused and suffering as much teenage angst as would fill a girls-only prep school and a sixteen year old, self-assured, articulate son and you get one funny book.

Despite the humour however, some of the topics touched on are quite show more serious: low self esteem in women, food issues and cyber-stalking. I found the girl’s character, Dora, to be pathetic but endearing at the same time. I think the author may have drawn personalities into her characters that stretched normal human boundaries. Dora didn’t just get frustrated at her mother, but yelled at her using the worst language possible. The mother’s response was to escape to work or her den to work on her book (Teenagers’s: The Manual), frustrated herself about why her daughter won’t listen to her advice. I know if my daughter furiously called me those names I would be blind-sided and very hurt. Dora’s mother saw hurling insults as a normal (albeit difficult) stage of adolescence to go through.

My favourite character was the son. He’s smart and wickedly funny. I pictured the character from Glee (Kurt) whenever I read his sections of the book. It was as if those parts were written with that television character in mind and I think the author did a great job with it.

The father, referred to as Husband or Dad, is mostly in the background but shines through occasionally. Even at that, he’s much more likeable than the mother who seems to be going through her own adolescence all over again. The husband/father is the most ‘normal’ character in the whole bunch, but overall (minus some of the more extreme characterizations) this is a dysfunctional family story but delivered with a lot of sly wit thrown in. show less

The Good Stuff

Bloody hilarious and witty at times. You gotta love the English, they have such a way with words
Oscar and Pam were my favorite characters. Would have liked to have some of book written from Pam's voice
Some lovely wise and very real moments about living with ones family
The sheer audacity of Mo's inner dialogue is wonderful
Made me LMAO on many occasions -- note to self mus learn to stop snorting out loud in public places -- people tend to stare
The scene between Dora and her show more grandma Pam about sex is delightful. My god I wish Pam was my grandma
The opening chapter is extremely funny
You will fall in love with Oscar. His way of speaking comes straight out of an Oscar Wilde story
A lot more dysfunctional than most families, but there is still the echo of truth about family life and the misunderstanding and judgement between different generations

The Not so Good Stuff

Very slow in the middle, might have deleted 50 pages or so
Dora is an annoying selfish little git and I disliked the chapters written by her. I honestly wanted to slap her upside the head on many occasions

Favorite Quotes/Passages

"What would be a good title for a self-help book for parents of teenagers? Two possible ideas at the moment under consideration: 1. Whatever and 2. Teenagers: The Manual. Hmm. Think the exclamation mark on the 1st suggestion might preclude it from being a serious contender."

"Her name is Pamela. I ask you, how was she ever supposed to make anyting of herself with that ghastly moniker as her albatross?"

"Oddly, it is Veronica that I find most disappointing. George is just behaving like the reactive Pavlov’s dog with many cocks that he is. Has always been. It’s a given with him, mandatory, if there’s a pretty girl and she shows any interest at all in him, he is helpless. Ring the bell, the dog salivates. He’s not even choosy, really anyone will do, and they do do. Often"

What I Learned

tons of english slang
Damn, I am a really good mom

Who should/shouldn't read

Those who like English Humour
Not for the prudish - as the dialogue is quite salty at times
3.5 Dewey's show less