2013 Book 19: Shockaholic
Book 19: Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher, isbn 9780743264822, hardcover, 162 pages, Simon & Schuster, $22.00
The Premise: Infused with Carrie Fisher’s trademark incisive wit and on the heels of Wishful Drinking’s instant New York Times bestselling success, Shockaholic takes readers on another rollicking ride into her crazy life.
There is no shortage of people flocking to hear what Princess Leia has to say. Her previous hardcover, Wishful Drinking, was an instant New York Times bestseller and Carrie was featured everywhere on broadcast media and received rave reviews from coast to coast, including People (4 stars; one of their top 10 books of the year), Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, and scores of others.
Told with the same intimate style, brutal honesty, and uproarious wisdom that placed Wishful Drinking on the New York Times bestseller list for months, Shockaholic is the juicy account of Carrie Fisher’s life, focusing more on the Star Wars years and dishing about the various Hollywood relationships she’s formed since she was chosen to play Princess Leia at only nineteen years old. Fisher delves into the gritty details that made the movie-and herself-such a phenomenal success, admitting, “It isn’t all sweetness and light sabers.”
My Rating: four stars out of five
My Thoughts: Carrie Fisher never fails to make me laugh. Her previous memoir, WISHFUL DRINKING, cracked me up as much as her appearances on Craig Ferguson's show. She is brutally honest about her own shortcomings and the drama of her family history, and while she at times does get a little wistful she approaches it all with a sense of humor that is distinct and self-effacing.
This volume doesn't seem to have quite the cohesion the first volume did. Her electro-convulsive therapy treatments are talked about at the beginning and form the basis of the running "memory loss" jokes throughout the book, but that subject is left quickly enough behind as Fisher moves on to talking about her stepfather, her stepmother (Elizabeth Taylor) and finally the last days of her father's life. And then the book just ... ends. Not much of a wrap-up or a bringing things full circle, just a lovely goodbye to Eddie Fisher. And that's the only aspect of the book that felt like a let-down, the want of another chapter wrapping things up.
But then again, when was the last time Carrie Fisher or her father did what was expected of them? So in a way, the lack of a wrap-up chapter is actually the perfect ending.
The Premise: Infused with Carrie Fisher’s trademark incisive wit and on the heels of Wishful Drinking’s instant New York Times bestselling success, Shockaholic takes readers on another rollicking ride into her crazy life.
There is no shortage of people flocking to hear what Princess Leia has to say. Her previous hardcover, Wishful Drinking, was an instant New York Times bestseller and Carrie was featured everywhere on broadcast media and received rave reviews from coast to coast, including People (4 stars; one of their top 10 books of the year), Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, and scores of others.
Told with the same intimate style, brutal honesty, and uproarious wisdom that placed Wishful Drinking on the New York Times bestseller list for months, Shockaholic is the juicy account of Carrie Fisher’s life, focusing more on the Star Wars years and dishing about the various Hollywood relationships she’s formed since she was chosen to play Princess Leia at only nineteen years old. Fisher delves into the gritty details that made the movie-and herself-such a phenomenal success, admitting, “It isn’t all sweetness and light sabers.”
My Rating: four stars out of five
My Thoughts: Carrie Fisher never fails to make me laugh. Her previous memoir, WISHFUL DRINKING, cracked me up as much as her appearances on Craig Ferguson's show. She is brutally honest about her own shortcomings and the drama of her family history, and while she at times does get a little wistful she approaches it all with a sense of humor that is distinct and self-effacing.
This volume doesn't seem to have quite the cohesion the first volume did. Her electro-convulsive therapy treatments are talked about at the beginning and form the basis of the running "memory loss" jokes throughout the book, but that subject is left quickly enough behind as Fisher moves on to talking about her stepfather, her stepmother (Elizabeth Taylor) and finally the last days of her father's life. And then the book just ... ends. Not much of a wrap-up or a bringing things full circle, just a lovely goodbye to Eddie Fisher. And that's the only aspect of the book that felt like a let-down, the want of another chapter wrapping things up.
But then again, when was the last time Carrie Fisher or her father did what was expected of them? So in a way, the lack of a wrap-up chapter is actually the perfect ending.