Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s “Learned” - Softcover

Dunham, Lena

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007515529 ISBN 13: 9780007515523

Publisher: Fourth Estate, 2014

Synopsis

Lena Dunham, acclaimed writer-director-star of HBO and Sky Atlantic’s ‘Girls’ and the award-winning movie ‘Tiny Furniture’, displays her unique powers of observation, wisdom and humour in this exceptional collection of essays.

“If I could take what I’ve learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine was worthwhile. I’m already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you, but also my future glory in having stopped you from trying an expensive juice cleanse or thinking that it was your fault when the person you are dating suddenly backs away, intimidated by the clarity of your personal mission here on earth. No, I am not a sexpert, a psychologist, or a dietician. I am not a mother of three or the owner of a successful hosiery franchise. But I am a girl with a keen interest in having it all, and what follows are hopeful dispatches from the frontlines of that struggle.”

About this title

Review:

‘It’s not Lena Dunham’s candour that makes me gasp. Rather, it’s her writing – which is full of surprises where you least expect them. This is a fine, subversive book’ David Sedaris

‘Always funny, sometimes wrenching, these essays are a testament to the creative wonder that is Lena Dunham’ Judy Blume

‘Dunham’s writing is just as smart, honest, sophisticated, dangerous, and charming as her work on ‘Girls’. Its essential quality is a kind of joyful super-awareness: of herself, the world, the human. Reading her makes you glad to be in the world, and glad that she’s in it with you’ George Saunders

‘Very few women have become famous for being who they actually are, nuanced and imperfect. When honesty happens, it’s usually couched in self-ridicule or self-help. Dunham doesn’t apologise like that – she simply tells her story as if it might be interesting. The result is shocking and radical because it is utterly familiar. ‘Not That Kind of Girl’ is hilarious, artful, and staggeringly intimate; I read it shivering with recognition’ Miranda July

‘Frank, fearless and funny ... made me want to cry out with thanks that a talented, intelligent woman has said and done worse things than I have and is repeating them without a scrap of shame ... ‘Not That Kind of Girl’ is funny, empowering and as good a millennial guide for navigating and laughing at your foggy adolescence and murky twenties as there can be. I only wish it had been around earlier’ Sunday Times

‘I love Lena’s book ... more shocking than I was expecting, sadder and more beautiful – anyway; within a few pages ... I’m charmed, anxious, furious and totally committed’ Nina Stibbe, Observer

‘Very funny ... and imbues the gloom with hope ... “Having it all” need not mean hitting narrow markers of success – the perfect job/man/body – but instead being able to own your experiences: the good, the bad, the ugly. All of it’ Independent

‘Dunham’s first book is seldom less than very funny’ Iona McLaren, Sunday Telegraph

About the Author:

At only 23 years old, Dunham wrote, directed and starred in the multi-award winning ‘Tiny Furniture’. She now stars in the HBO series, ‘Girls’, which she created and also serves as an executive producer and writer. Dunham graduated from Oberlin College in 2008 with a degree in Creative Writing and currently resides in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fourth Estate
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0007515529
• ISBN 13: 9780007515523
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288