A Different Kind of Memoir

I was kind of expecting to like this more than I did. My familiarity with Lena Dunham is completely based on her presence on social media — I’ve never watched Girls or any of her movies. But I like her — she’s smart, she’s bold, she’s trying to change things. But I just didn’t feel much for this book.

“There is nothing gutsier to me than a person announcing that their story is one that deserves to be told, especially if that person is a woman.”

One thing I did like about Not That Kind of Girl was Lena’s voice — unlike tons of other celebrity memoirs I’ve read (particularly those written by women), there’s no self-deprecating tone, or really any poking fun at herself. She lays everything out as it happened, and steps back. Not to say that there’s no humor — it’s funny as well as sad in parts. She just doesn’t coach it in terms of: “Oh, I’m such a klutz/goofball/whatever”. I liked that.

Unfortunately, overall, it was kind of dull. Some of the stories, especially about her family, were interesting (by the way, I think the whole “molesting her sister” thing got blown way out of proportion, based on what I read…). But most of the stuff that happened as she got older — musings about boys and work — just didn’t capture my attention. I hope she writes another book, though — I’d like the opportunity to try again.