And, of course, a book named The New York Regional Mormons Singles Halloween Dance is the book I decide to review the week of some other big holiday that people tend to celebrate....
The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance hooked me from the first paragraph and didn't let go. Elna begins the book dressed as a bee with a plunger for a singer at the annual New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance. Elna is not the belle of the ball, instead, at the start of the book, she's obese and, while she desperately would love to meet a man, no one seems interested in her. Her losing the weight is just the beginning.
The book isn't as linear as most memoirs are. Baker will sometimes take a step or two back and mention something that happened long before. This can sometimes work against a book, but in this case this kinds of adds to the books charm. This is the way most people outside of the printed word tell stories: sometimes plotting along and then need to relay a bit of information that happened well before the story to give context. This made her memoir feel more like hearing a story from a friend than something by someone you don't know in real life.
I usually don't check out other reviews before writing my own, but this time I did and was shocked by some of the negativity and negative reviews towards this book A number of these reviews seemed to come from fellow LDS members (Mormons) citing the book's terrible language the perceived "obsession" with sex, among other things. According to the author's own dedication page, she uses "nine F-words, thirteen Sh-words, four A-holes" which doesn't seem like very many at all.
I personally didn't even notice when these words were used and found nothing at all offensive about them. Having read the negative reviews specifically noting her use of "dirty language", you would think she had as many swear words as Pulp Fiction or The South Park Movie, which is far, far, far from the case. As for criticism regarding the "obsession" with sex or this book is memoir about the author. If have thoughts and desires about her sex-life (or lack there of) and wants to discuss her struggle with it, I don't think that constitutes an "obsession."
There was one small part that made me raise an eyebrow where I found her story slightly unbelievable dealing with internet knowledge, but that really didn't take away from my enjoyment. This is a really funny book that I really liked and really hope Ms. Baker comes out with more....or at least gets featured more on NPR's This American Life.
As a holiday treat, there is a link to Elna's radio story "Babies Buying Babies" which appeared on episode 347 of This American Life and also appears in the book. It's part three, and you can listen to just that story from this page.
If you are interested, her the author's blog can be found at elnabaker.com.
Rating 4.0-4.5 of 5.
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1 comment:
I read this book upon the recommendation of the blogger. Pars were funny but overall I felt meh about Elna's exploits as a Mormon in the city. She has a nice writing style, very clear and understandable, but my problem is with what Elna writes about, not her style. Maybe it's a girl thing, I dunno, but we all ahve trouble finding Mr. or Ms. Right. Grab a number, Elna, and get in line. Granted, I don't understand the special problems a Mormon may have swimming in the non-Mormon sea known as the Big Apple but so what? We all have trouble finding that soul mate.
And I did not know if it was Elna's weight (and subsequent loss of lots of pounds) which posed a bigger problem or was it her Mormonism? And speaking of weight loss, I understand the need for plastic surgery to remove excess skin but a boob job? Get real, gurrrl. You either wanted bigger boobs, or the boobs you had when heavy, not breast augmentation to take up the slack in your loose skin.
Elna is at her best when she talks about mundane matters, such as her job working at FAO Schwartz. Stick to the storytelling and leave the Book of Mormon to Joseph Smith.
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