Furiously Happy

Flatiron Books

Furiously Happy:  A Funny Book About Horrible Things
Jenny Lawson
2015

The Summary
"In Furiously Happy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson explores her lifelong battle with mental illness.  A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety?  That sounds like a terrible idea.

"But terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.

"As Jenny says, 'Some people might thing being "furiously happy" is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly liked kangaroos.  And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house.  Two is the limit.  I speak from personal experience.  My husband says that "none" is the new limit.  I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos.

"'Most of my favorite people are dangerously fucked up but you'd never guess because we've learned to bare it so honestly that it becomes the new normal.  Like John Hughes wrote in The Breakfast Club, "We're all pretty bizarre.  Some of us are just better at hiding it."  Except go back and cross out the word "hiding."'

"Furiously Happy is a book about embracing everything that makes us who we are--the beautiful and the flawed--and then using it to find joy in fantastic and outrageous ways.  Because, as Jenny's mom says, 'Maybe "crazy" isn't so bad after all.'  Sometimes crazy is just right."

The Good
Furiously Happy is uproariously funny, brutally honest, completely candid, and absolutely absurd.  Jenny Lawson has a quirky sense of humor that sometimes borders on vulgar--no, rather she cross the line on vulgar and waves at you from the other side--but the shock value in her stories keeps them interesting and her ability to capture an unusual story, a tragic event, or a strange set of circumstances, makes her second book thoroughly hilarious and patently insane.

Lawson has a unique way of telling a story.  She frequently deviates from a set path, skipping merrily along, before she reverts back to the original narrative.  She distracts herself with new stories, but she has ADD, among other disorders, which explains quite a lot--and, I think, tends to make her storytelling interesting.

Her history might be a little fractured by her inability to stay focused, but I think she perfectly conveys herself and her story.  She shows her audience her real self and adequately characterizes her family and friends.  She really brings everyone to life, showing off their unique characteristics and attitudes, and offers extraordinary stories.

Like how her husband bought her a mounted bear head, which is when she learned he really did love her.  Or how her father stumbled across a stuffed giraffe and discovered a tribe of individuals with a love for ethically achieved, taxidermied animals, just like Jenny.  Or her strange penchant for hosting midnight cat rodeos.  Or her unusual encounter with a doctor who removed her gallbladder (an experience which, she claims, proves she's turning into a zombie one organ at a time).

I mean, you can't not laugh at the ridiculous, sometimes terrible things that happen to her and the equally terrible ideas that strike her fancy.  Altogether, it's a hilarious and irreverent romp through mental disorder, family drama, and horrible things that are inadvertently funny.

The Bad
I've already admitted it, Furiously Happy is an odd story.  Sometimes fragmented and just plain weird, it's a strange, scintillating and comically absurd memoir--but I absolutely loved it.  Lawson isn't a perfect author or even a perfect person, but I found her quirks, her struggles, and her unusual conversations with her husband and friends to be appealing.

It's funny, and it's relateable.

The Ugly
Mental illness isn't a pretty thing to witness.  Lawson had a way of making me laugh, which sometimes lessens the impact of witnessing her struggle with mental illness, but, as she points out, it's still "no fucking picnic."

A Street Cat Named Bob

Thomas Dunne Books

A Street Cat Named Bob
James Bowen
2012

The Summary
"A Street Cat Named Bob is an international sensation, landing on the bestseller list in England for fifty-two consecutive weeks and selling in twenty-six country around the world.  Now, James and Bob are ready to share their true story with readers in the United States.  This is a tale unlike any you've ever read, and Bob is a cat who possesses some kind of magic.

"When street musician James Bowen found an injured cat curled up in the hallway of his apartment building, he had no idea how much his life was about to change.  James was living hand to mouth on the streets of London, barely making enough money to feed himself, and the last thing he needed was a pet.  Yet James couldn't resist helping the strikingly intelligent but very sick animal, whom he named Bob.  He slowly nursed Bob back to health and then sent the cat on his way, imagining that he would never see him again.  But Bob had other ideas."

The Good
I was pleasantly surprised by A Street Cat Named Bob.  When I picked it up at the recommendation of a coworker, I was a little hesitant; however, I'm glad I took the opportunity to read it, because it is a great book.

Granted, I was originally attracted to Bowen's memoir since it featured a cat (and I love cats and dogs, if you can't tell from some of my other reviews) and I liked reading about his growing relationship with Bob, his ginger tomcat, but I think I also appreciated the way his story developed.  James Bowen is an excellent narrator and, with the help of Garry Jenkins, his character, his tone of voice--the qualities that make him unique as an individual--shine through the entire work.

I found the book was easy to read, full of remarkable little stories and memories that make it singularly satisfying.  It's a simple affair, straight-forward in its retelling of life with a stray cat, but it's so honest and earnest.  Bowen is a candid narrator, recounting all the hope and peril of day-to-day addiction recovery.

It's easy to get sucked into the story, like how pedestrians gravitate toward Bob when Bowen is "busking."  It's undeniable.  (And don't worry if you don't know what "busking" means right now.  Bowen is sure to fill you in.)  It's heart-warming and sweet--and I was so glad I had the chance to pick up A Street Cat Named Bob.

The Bad
I don't really have any complaints.  A Street Cat Named Bob is a solid story with an excellent set of authors.  Bowen and Jenkins work well together, creating a memoir that's surprisingly poignant and hopeful.  It's book that I highly recommend reading if you're an animal lover, especially if you're of the variety who have picked up Marley & Me.

The Ugly
Drug addiction, plain and simple.

The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group

Harcourt

The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group
Catherine Jinks
2011

The Summary
"When Tobias Richard Vandevelde wakes up in a hospital with no memory of the night before, his horrified mother tells him that he was found unconscious.  At Featherdale Wildlife Park.  In a dingo pen.

"He assumes that his two rambunctious best friends are somehow responsible, until he discovers that they're just as freaked out as he is.  Then the mysterious Reuben turns up, claiming that Toby has a rare and dangerous 'condition.'  Next thing he knows, Toby finds himself involved with a strange bunch of sickly insomniacs who seem convinced that he needs their help.

"It's not until he's kidnapped and imprisoned that he starts to believe them--and understands what being a paranormal monster really means."

The Good
Catherine Jinks has an interesting story in her novel.  She pulls from original werewolf myths from around the globe--you know, the ones influenced by the lunar calendar, who are the "seventh son of a seventh son" (or something like that.  I didn't entirely understand.)--but she puts it all smack dab in the middle of Australia.

It's unique and Toby isn't a bad narrator.  He's interesting, he's funny and he's very observant for his age.  He's a teenage boy facing terrifying circumstances, and he acts like a teenage boy facing terrifying circumstances.  He's a believable narrator, and I found his story interesting enough to keep me committed to the very end.

The Bad
The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group isn't a great book.  At first, I liked the plot development, liked as it slowly built and, piece by piece, revealed the truth; however, I have to say I was disappointed with the last several chapters.  It's like Toby's story reached a certain point, developing at a steady pace until, suddenly, it just all comes tumbling out in a rush.  It's just too much, too quickly with one thing after another after another coming at you for the last one hundred or more pages.

It just never stops.  Which is annoying, rather than fun and exciting.

Plus, it's not the best young adult werewolf story I've ever read.  It's not terrible, but I wouldn't say it's great either.  I was bugged by the fact that even though you meet several werewolves, you never actually seem them as werewolves.  It's a bit anticlimactic if you think about it.  I mean, I understand why Toby can't say much about it--he doesn't remember it!--but it's a bit disappointing.

Oh, and one last thing:  Fergus was super annoying.  I really didn't like him.

The Ugly
Werewolf fighting.  Makes me cringe a little bit to think about it.