Wishful Drinking
by Carrie Fisher
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Book Reviews of Wishful Drinking
Book Review: The Princess that Launched a Thousand (Space)Ships
Summary: 5 Stars
Bwahahaha! Hilarious. That's what this book was. I've read Carrie's first three novels (Postcards from the Edge, Surrender the Pink, and Delusions of Grandma) and found them just average. However, WISHFUL DRINKING, her memoir, really captures Carrie's wit and sarcasm. I was immediately drawn to the book in a bookstore by the cover featuring Princess Leia's highly recognizable bun hairdo (hairdon't?), facedown, with a martini glass in her hand. It was the perfect cover! I had to have the book.
I realize it's a memoir and that Carrie went through a long bout with drugs, alcohol, etc, but my favorite stories of hers were of growing up with her parents, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, and their escapades. I would have LOVED to have read much more of these stories (and see more photos!) from this period of her life. Everyone (and by everyone, I mean celebrities) has stories and memoirs about their life with drugs, but not everyone was born to the can't-keep-his-p*nis-in-his-pants Eddie Fisher and the over-the-top-but-loving Debbie Reynolds.
The memoir is short (too short!) and a quick read (too quick!), but now it makes me want to get off my bookshelf Carrie's fourth novel, The Best Awful, and finally read it.
Book Review: Review Summed Up in One Word: Funny
Summary: 4 Stars
From one-woman stage show to book, this is a natural progression for this talented, writer, actress, humorist. Slim--at less than 200 pages--with type large enough that we eyesight challenged middle-aged fans can read without our glasses, it's also peppered with photos. I read through it in an afternoon.
If you're a fan of Carrie Fisher's writing, especially her books Postcards from the Edge and Delusions of Grandma, (I wasn't a big fan of her novel The Best Awful), this will be a nice addition to your collection. Or if you've seen her show and would like to have a companion piece--kind of like a detailed Stage Bill--than this is a good choice. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a thorough memoir or a seasoned collection of humor essays, you'll most likely be disappointed. Without question, Carrie Fisher is laugh out loud funny, and the extraordinary cast of characters comprising her highly visible dysfunctional family makes it no wonder why she's opted to share the tales of her existence.
"My entire existence can be summed up in one phrase," she writes. "If my life wasn't funny it would just be true, and that is unacceptable." She goes on, of course, to write several more phrases, but her opening line certainly rings true.
Michele Cozzens is the author of It's Not Your Mother's Bridge Club.
Book Review: From stage to page--it loses a little something
Summary: 2 Stars
In Carrie Fisher's new book, a sort of sequel to her successful memoir Postcards From the Edge, she talks about her alcohol and drug addiction, her mental illness (she's bipolar) as well as her ECT treatment (otherwise known as electroshock therapy.) Wishful Drinking reads like a casual discussion between friends, which makes sense when you learn it's actually Fisher's one-woman show put into book form.
Unfortunately, it also reads like the script for a one-woman show put into book form--a book that could have used some judicious editing. There are a fair number of paragraphs that begin with "Now," "Anyway," "So," and "Well," that work as conversational dialog on stage but make for sloppy writing and annoying reading as a book. Fisher also tends to repeat herself--also sloppy and annoying.
As performance piece recycled into a book, Wishful Drinking would probably be best "read" as an audio book read by the author. My enjoyment of this short memoir suffered the equivalent of seeing the film preview for a one-note comedy that gives away all the best jokes in the trailer. I'd learned about this book on another blog that dropped some of the best lines by way of raving. Intrigued and amused, (and unaware that this was based on a stage version), I was disappointed. There just isn't enough humor or story to make it worth recommending.
Book Review: The Colorful Life Of Carrie Fisher
Summary: 5 Stars
Who knew that Carrie Fisher has led such a colorful life? Well, maybe people who follow celebrity news, but I certainly didn't, which is what made this book so fun and informative to read. /Wishful Drinking/ is a collection of anecdotes about Carrie Fisher's life, written by her, told in mostly chronological order. It includes stories about her family and what it was like being the child of two famous parents, her marriage to Paul Simon, her struggles with drug and alcohol use, undergoing electroshock therapy, her mental illness, and, of course, her role as Princess Leia.
This book was so much fun. Not because of the subject matter, which was generally rather depressing, but because of how it is written. Fisher writes how many people talks, and since I know her voice (somewhat, although I'd imagine it's changed since Star Wars), it felt to me like I could hear her talking as I read. The chapters are fairly short which, combined with the writing style, made it quick to read. The book is based on her show of the same name, which I'd now really like to go see. Fisher has struggled with a lot over the years, but she has an upbeat outlook on life; you can tell she really takes it to heart when she says "If my life wasn't funny it would just be true, and that is unacceptable."
Reviewed by Holly Scudero
Book Review: Limp Fish-er
Summary: 1 Stars
I agree that Carrie Fisher is talented. I read her book 'Postcards From the Edge' and watched the movie (she wrote the screenplay) and absolutely loved it. I was really looking forward to reading her latest book 'Wishful Drinking'. But a quarter of the way through, I was finding myself annoyed and irritated with her delivery. Clearly, she is an angry woman. Spurned, scorned . . . however you want to tag it. Throughout the first few chapters, after many, many (many) jabs at her father, she turned her contempt on her first husband, Paul Simon: She said they fought so much, more than most couples should. "In fact, we once had a fight on our honeymoon [check] where I said 'Not only do I not like you - I don't like you PERSONALLY.' " Nice.
My Review: Where there were moments of hilarity, she does not endear herself to her readers. She comes across as an angry, bitter spinster that blames her entire failure as a human being on: first, her father, next, her first husband, then, her second husband. Man-hater much? Oh, and wait - she suffers from manic depression. And bipolar disorder. Gosh, nothing is her fault! What a classic story. And very sad. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone except those VFLs (Victim For Life) who share her story and enjoy indulging in self-pity parties.