Thursday, April 17, 2014

"Confessions of a Failed Slut" - A Review

Confessions of a Failed Slut is the latest work from Kathy Shaidle of Fivefeetoffury Fame. And I would like to start out by pointing out it is an ESSAY, not a book!

Not that there's anything wrong with that.  I am a big fan of essays if for any other reason than that many ideas do not need 300 pages to convey.  But I wanted to be a stickler to this point because Kathy readily admits it is an essay and not a book by offering it only in Kindle format.  She did not write 35 pages and call it a "book."  Ergo, I tip my hat to her in this pet peeve regard of mine.

That being said "Confessions of a Failed Slut" covers Kathy's life through the 70's, 80's and 90's, primarily recording her observations of dating, courting, sex, and society during that time.  However, unlike her slutty counterparts or contemporaries writing for Cosmo or aging like Maureen Dowd, she is nowhere near as vapid or vain.  She is a woman with a sharp mind, self-respecting impatience, and an cynical eagle eye making her observations prove correct overtime and clairvoyant in the past.  Therefore instead of Harlequin romance tripe, you get a straight shot, no dope, Brooklyn east-coast accented talking story (except for the fact Kathy hails from Canada).

The essay takes on basically a rant/screed feel as she effortless transitions from one topic to the next, never requiring chapters or even subheadings.  One minute she's talking about being in AA, the next minute she's talking about the Love Boat, and the third about Penthouse Magazine.  While this would have normally made my linear economist mind explode, it doesn't matter because there is a logic and a flow, and above all else a lesson - generations of young men and women have been lied to so much that what we are witnessing is not only sad, but sadistically entertaining and utterly predictable.  Normally such a dire and macabre topic would beget frowns and heads shaking, but Kathy's realism, indifference, bluntness, and ability to make hilarious analogies on par with Dennis Miller will have you laughing your ass off every 2nd page. 

Will this book revolutionize your thinking?

No, probably not.

Will this book convince any one of the hundreds of millions of young westerners to convert back to their traditional 1940's societal roles?

Oh good lord no.

But it is nice to see, from the perspective of a "slightly" older than me type "older sister" who had been through it before explain what she saw, how outlandish it was back then, and that no, you weren't insane for thinking what you did back in 1988.

You can find "Confessions of a Failed Slut" on Kindle.

(Note, "slightly older" means like 3-4 months older than me putting her squarely in her mid 30's)

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