Book Review: Not That Kind Of Girl by Lena Dunham

So, I finally finished this book. It took me ages, mostly I think because I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to remain in the world of Lena Dunham for much longer than the pages of the book would allow. The book is basically a collection of essays, each very different but just as quirky as the next. I’ve already done a post about Lena Dunham and how much I love her, so I won’t gush again. I really just want to focus on the book for this post.

Like I mentioned before, the book is pretty much a collection of essays. There isn’t a set flow to them, such as chronological order, but for the most part I didn’t feel like it was too disjointed while reading it. I will say that this book isn’t for someone looking to read a straight up autobiography or memoir. I found the times when I felt a little discombobulated were when I probably wasn’t paying as much attention to the book.  

Some of the stories may be a little confronting for some people, particularly some of the sexual ones, but I didn’t really have a problem with it. Anyone who has seen her TV show ‘Girls’ knows how explicit and honest she is. In fact, there are a few stories that you might recognise as being storylines or scenes in the show. The fact that she is able to be so very candid and real about her experiences is the main reason I loved this book. She doesn’t sugar-coat or glamorize her life. In fact, she can be a little self-deprecating. Personally I don’t think it’s so much that she comes across as being secretly up herself. She’s very honest about being quite self-centred (which is not as awful as it may sound).

All-in-all I don’t think this book will be everybody’s cup of tea. I’ve heard some negative comments about it and some of the stories that I personally don’t agree with, but others obviously take different things away from her stories than I do. If you’re up for a quirky journey through Lena’s mind and memories and have an open mind I would definitely recommend this book to you (if you haven’t already read it yet). If you prefer memoirs and autobiographies that follow a certain structure and prefer less… shall we say ‘personal’ or ‘graphic’ content from the people you admire and want to learn about, then possibly this isn’t the book for you. This book is mostly funny, sometimes serious and always real. I absolutely loved it and would read it again (once I finish my plethora of other books I have waiting to be read)!