It's a debut essay collection from Maeve Dunigan: a satirist with New Yorker and McSweeney's writing. I adored it so much!
The book is collection focused on anxieties, spite, and generally existing. It's closest to Little Weirds by Jenny Slate and I Might Regret This by Abbi Jacobson.
There's a fantastic essay on participating in a unspoken competition with all other women that I've had rattling amid my noggin since reading it.
"You see, I wholeheartedly consider myself to be in an ongoing, ruthless competition with every woman on earth, and I’m going to win. I’m going to be the Best Woman."
In the piece, Dunigan feels like she's fighting all women in existence for opportunities. I've often felt in competition with others, like when a similarly aged peer gets a high paying promotion well-before I do. I wouldn't openly admit such a feeling in real life. Being unpromptedly adversarial feels taboo, making Dunigan's essay all the more cathartic to read.
Dunigan's bristles with the world feel like she's learning to come into her own emotions. It's almost like a coming of age story told through essays.
Has anyone else read it?
by OdaEiichiro
2 Comments
Sounds very interesting I’m game
that quote hits hard lol