Review: Don't Walk. Stroll
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 19, 2013
Think about where funny comes from. And wisdom. It is likely the same place - hard lessons and suffering. Despite the light-speed humor in A Walk in the Snark, it is clear that the writer lived life with her eyes wide open, taught and learned hard lessons, went through joy and pain, and came out the other side. Rachel's wry, sometimes biting, and always wise observations make you laugh out loud and stop and think. I don't often talk to myself while reading (not since I was five or so), but while reading Snark, I kept saying "Holy hell! She's right!" Rachel knows men and women, and is not afraid to take them to school.The writing style flows like water almost too hot to touch. There are lines like "This piece has been sanctioned by The UN Committee of the Ambassador's Office for the Improvement of Male-Female Relationships, which doesn't exist and I totally made up, but which OMG, should" which I, as a writer, wish I had written, but which, OMG, I didn't. Awesome writing like this is a constant companion during your walk in the Snark.After reading this book, I would buy a ticket to Rachel's comedy tour (which she should consider). She is telling cleverly intertwined stories one after the other - you have to keep up. But at the same time, this is not a sprint through the Snark--take your time. Don't skip the "Poignancy Alerts" -you will miss out on some real storytelling power. Stroll. Stop and look at everything. Breathe deep. It's worth it.