Review: Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein
Thoughts before Reading/Listening
- I'm not sure why I picked up Carrie Brownstein's memoir, Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl because I've never seen Portlandia or listened to Sleater-Kinney.
- What's more, I usually run like a crazy person from author-narrated audiobooks.
- However, I'm always interested in the truths behind a so-called glamorous or blessed life. As for the audiobook, I figured Brownstein's experience on the music stage, in front of the camera, and in the recording studio would serve her well.
- Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl is a well-written and thoughtful memoir by musician, writer, and actor Carrie Brownstein.
- She talks about her childhood, her parents, and the rise of her band Sleater-Kinney.
- More than just a chronology, Brownstein has things to say about sexuality, feminism, the music industry, and friendship. She talks about her insecurities and strengths, her successes and failures.
- Being famous can often mean giving up privacy and control of your personal sphere. For example, Brownstein writes about being outed as gay in a magazine article before she had found the time, place, and way to tell her family and friends.
- Sexism is as present in the music world as it is any other profession. One message of Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl is the fact that even in the twenty-first century, artists like Brownstein and cutting-edge bands like Sleater-Kinney are always described with some variation of the word female or woman: A great girl band, a powerful female vocalist, and so on. Why not just a great band period?
- I was impressed with Brownstein's honesty and self-awareness, though this is not a tell-all memoir.
- Life on the road sucks.
- It pays to be bold, but not recklessly so.
- This is a fairly literary memoir; Brownstein is articulate and well-spoken. She does, however, engage in some subtle name-dropping, and I wasn't always sure of the point--except perhaps that she wanted to say "I knew this musician / designer / artist."
- Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl has little to say about Portlandia.
- Fans of the Riot Grrrl movement and of Sleater-Kinney will love the details about song writing and album making. Even if you're not familiar with Brownstein's music, these sections are still interesting.
- Carrie Brownstein did a fine job narrating Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl. She was easy to understand and expressive. Brownstein was clearly enthusiastic about telling her story but didn't cross the line to over-the-top dramatic. Don't hesitate to try the audiobook.
- Audiobook bonus: Don't miss the interview between Carrie Brownstein and Sarah Jaffe (audiobook producer). I loved hearing Brownstein's unrehearsed reactions to the questions and gaining extra insight into her personality.
- Data: Penguin Audio; 7 hr, 4 min
ISBN-13: 9781594486630
Source: Review: print & audio (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)
6 comments:
I've got a copy of this waiting for a listen. I'm looking foward to it. I am familiar with her because of Portlandia, but I'm most interested in her life in music. It sounds like this delivers. Thanks for the review.
never watched portlandia - not a fan of the actors - and while this sounds interesting non fiction is not my cuppa .. but thanks!
Never heard of this book, but it sounds interesting. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Majanka @ I Heart Reading.
This sounds like something my niece would enjoy, great review here.
Added to my TBR list, thanks!!
I've been thinking about this one but wavering on the audio book -- glad to hear she was a good narrator of the story!
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