chelsea handler

Recently I read the masterpiece Are You There Vodka? It's me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler. Obviously from the cover and title you can tell it's a thought provoking account of a recovering alcoholic. But no, it was a memoir of sorts, with no real structure. It was just a series of stories from Handler's childhood which leads on to her twenties and thirties. My favourite stories are the ones that involve her dad.

He seems like a real force of a man. He wears mustard sweatpants which go up to his nipples and are held up by suspenders. He pees in his backyard because he can't be bothered walking to the toilet. He seems unapologetic and crass, someone who I would hate in real life and spend hours bitching about, but someone I love in fiction.

I'm just about to finish Are You There Vodka? so I decided to look up Handler's next book, My Horizontal Life. I went on amazon and perused the reviews. Some of them are quite harsh. Here are some extracts:

'I cannot believe anyone but a retarded pre teen would find this remotely funny.'

' I'm surprised she has survived these experiences without getting raped, seriously hurt or diseased.'

Imagine those printed glorious reviews printed across the cover. I think everyone has a right to their own opinion and I respect that, but mine matters above all else. The book's subtitle is A series of one night stands. If you don't want to read about Chelsea thoroughly enjoying herself then don't buy the book. Some say her humour is shallow and racist and that her lifestyle is repulsive, but that is the thing that I love about her. At first I was taken aback by how frank, and even how rude she can be. But as I read her book I just stopped taking her seriously and let myself enjoy her storytelling. It's great entertainment, and yes, can be offensive but I perceive it as irony more than anything else. I love how she can laugh at what a slurry she was/is.

I think most of the more abrasive reviews are from women. Why are women so harsh to judge other women? I know that sounds like I think I'm so far removed from that equation, that I'm not a part of 'women' and you're exactly right. Kind of. I think if a man wrote about his various sexual conquests I would buy the book to burn it. I would be disgusted. But with Chelsea's book and I just laughed and thought 'What a slut,hahah!' in a very endearing kind of way. I'm sure women and men should be treated equally but since we all know that is not possible, we should just go ahead and favour women.