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Not That Kind Of Girl: A Memoir (2009)

by Carlene Bauer(Favorite Author)

2.93 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0060840544 (ISBN13: 9780060840549)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Harper

review 1: I'm not a fan of memoirs in general and, when I do read them, I prefer those written by an old person who has some great stories, a younger person who's experienced something really unusual, or anyone who can make me shoot liquids out of my nose. Bauer is exactly my age, grew up in the next state over, has worked in the same industry as me, has worked in the building across the street from my office building, and has lived in my neighborhood. Plus, growing up, we read many of the same books. Our supposedly huge difference is that I am a non-believer and she was raised in an evangelical environment (except it wasn't all that evangelical) and has spent much of her adulthood trying to figure out her religious place in the world. At times we've both found ourselves on the "not... more that kind of girl" spectrum, but whereas Bauer seems to attribute her NTKOG moments to her Christian background, I...don't. Not that I'm denying the power of outside influences, but the further I got into her memoirs, the more convinced I became that Bauer's analytical, over-thinking self would be pretty much the same if she had been raised in any other kind of religious environment, or even a non-religious environment. I know that memoirs are hot ticket items right now, but I think this would have been a more convincing story, had it been a novel that borrowed heavily from Bauer's life. Kudos for the two Maud Hart Lovelace shout-outs in the text.
review 2: Carlene Bower's early life was filled with Jesus and a fear of his second coming. Her education at religious schools prepared her to choose their interpretation of God's path but didn't arm her with self-confidence or much of a conviction that life was supposed to be a wonderful thing. The majority of this book is her experiences in college, when she decides that while she's not ready to loose her virginity or try drugs, she IS interested in finding out more of what the world has to offer. So, she moves to New York City and starts trying to make a place for herself in a town overflowing with talented and beautiful people.Much of this book is Carlene's search for what she really wants. What WILL make her happy? Writing? Partying? A man? New York City? God? Some of her musings really resonated with me as she picked apart her responses and actions - but other times, I felt like she glossed over some really major decisions, which felt out of place with the rest of the narrative. I enjoyed her crisp and descriptive prose - and she's very self-effacing so I wasn't annoyed by her tone and she clearly wants to understand herself and her relationship with God and the universe. She has a beautiful way with words that made her world very real.In the end, for me, though, I just didn't catch the vision of it. I felt like the crux of this book: her feelings about God and her decision to be a virgin and when to let that go, were discussed and discussed by never resolved in a concrete way. I ended up feeling sometimes a bit bored and sometimes a bit frustrated by the process. I will say, though, that for others who have searched for God (or had him handed to them as a child), found him again and then wondered if that was enough - this book would probably feel very familiar and worth picking up. less

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