The Book of Joan - Tales of Mirth, Mischief, and Manipulation is by Melissa Rivers, the daughter of comedian Joan Rivers. I loved Joan Rivers and am one of those people who thought she was really funny - clever funny - and always looked great, whatever she had done.
I didn't really like this book, but maybe you will.
I was expecting a little more Joan, I guess, thinking this was a remembrance of her. It's much more about Melissa and her life, with stories of a famous mom. They were always a team, with Melissa doing a lot of the producing, but that's not what I want to hear about. Together, the revolutionized awards shows by introducing the 'Red Carpet' pre-show interviews - they were the first to start the trend, and launched the Fashion Police TV show.
Melissa grew up in the business so it's filled with stories of celebrities and events, all told in an annoyingly comedic voice. I expect a Joan Rivers book to be overflowing with one liners but in Melissa's voice it sounds off to me, like going to a Joan Rivers comedy show and instead it was performed by Melissa. With each paragraph a set up or each line a joke, there isn't much sentiment or serious feeling. I should probably stop talking since I didn't like it.
There were a few funny anecdotes about Joan, but if you are interested in her, read her autobiography Enter Talking. It's a fantastic story of both her ambition to break into the man's world of stand up comedy alongside stars like Lenny Bruce (there were few female comics back then), and an unvarnished look at all the gigs and low jobs you have to do to make it in the business. Really terrific. Or watch A Piece of Work, a recent documentary that followed her around her many jobs, always working on something.
I don't know who the audience for this book is but two things stand out - she was approached coming out of her mother's memorial service by a book editor slipping a business card into her hand and saying 'call me', and another mention that this book was being pushed through a Mother's Day release date. I guess that's it. She could have called it Mother and Me, but it's more like Me, and Mom.
2015 / Hardcover / 284 pages
Comments