Readers' rating:
Published May 2016
272 pages
Genre: Essays
Publication Information
Hailed by Lena Dunham as an "essential (and hilarious) voice for women," Lindy West is ferociously witty and outspoken, tackling topics as varied as pop culture, social justice and body image.
West has rocked readers in work published everywhere from The Guardian to GQ to This American Life. She is a catalyst for a national conversation in a world where not all stories are created equal and not every body is treated with equal respect. Shrill is comprised of a series of essays that bravely shares her life, including her transition from quiet to feminist-out-loud, coming of age in a popular culture that is hostile to women (especially fat, funny women) and how keeping quiet is not an option for any of us.
"Starred Review. Required reading .. .Always entertaining and relatable, West write openly and with clear eyes about embarrassing moments and self-esteem issues, and has a remarkable ability to move among lightheartedness, heavy hitting topics, and what it means to be a good person." - Publishers Weekly
"Uproariously funny ... Readers will delight in West's biting clarity .... Despite its serious subject, West's ribald jokes, hilarious tirades, and raucous confessions keep her memoir skipping merrily along as she jumps from painful confession to powerful epiphany. Sure to be a boon for anyone who has struggled with body image, Shrill is a triumphant, exacting, absorbing memoir that will lay new groundwork for the way we talk about the taboo of being too large." - Booklist
"West's prose is conversational and friendly in tone, hacking away at the patriarchy with a smile. " - Library Journal
"Lindy West can take almost any topic and write about it in a way that is smart, funny, warm, and unique." - Bustle
"When West isn't pairing enlightenment with hilarity, she's fighting for your right to choose, to love your body at any size, and so much more. Lena Dunham's a fan, and so are we." - Cosmopolitan
"Lindy West is an essential (and hilarious) voice for women. Her talent and bravery have made the Internet a place I actually want to be. Thank you, Lindy." - Lena Dunham, #1 bestselling author of Not That Kind of Girl
"It made me hurt, both from laughing and crying. Required reading if you are a feminist. Recommended reading if you aren't." - Jenny Lawson, #1 bestselling author of Let's Pretend This Never Happened and Furiously Happy
"Hey reader! I thought I'd read enough in this lifetime about people's childhoods and feelings and such and I'd never want to do it again. But Lindy West is such a totally entertaining and original writer she kind of blew that thought out of my head halfway into the first chapter. I dare you to feel differently." - Ira Glass, This American Life
"It's literally the new Bible." - Caitlin Moran, New York Times bestselling author of How to Be a Woman
"There's a reason Lindy West is such a beloved writer: she gets to the heart of impossible issues with humor and grace. West will have you cringing, laughing and crying, all within one page. Shrill is a must-read for all women." - Jessica Valenti, author of Why Have Kids and Full Frontal Feminism
"The surge of love and joy I felt while crylaughing through this book almost made my cold dead heart explode. Lindy is so smart and so funny that it almost hurts my little jealous-ass feelings. She is my most favorite writer ever." - Samantha Irby, author of Meaty
This information about Shrill was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Lindy West is a Seattle-based writer, editor, and performer whose work focuses on pop culture, social justice, humor, and body image. She's currently a culture writer for GQ magazine and GQ.com and a weekly columnist at The Guardian, as well as the founder and editor of I Believe You | It's Not Your Fault, an advice blog for teens. In 2015 she wrote and recorded a story for This American Life about confronting an Internet troll who impersonated her dead father. She also was listed as "Internet's Most Fascinating of 2015" by Cosmopolitan.com, and helped launch the viral #ShoutYourAbortion hashtag in defense of women's reproductive rights.
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