Meaty: Essays by Samantha Irby, Creator of the Blog BitchesGottaEat
“How to Get Your Disgusting Meat Carcass Ready for Some New, Hot Sex,” is just one of the amazingly crass, defiant, witty, terrifying, and wondrous offerings found in Irby’s debut book of essays. Fans of her uproarious blog, bitches gotta eat, might already be well acquainted with some pieces found in this book. However, here they are expanded, edited, and feature proper capitalization, and they’re tucked in amid newer gems. Irby, a Chicago-based writer-performer who mostly jokes about “hot dudes, diarrhea, kittens, and magical tacos,” cuts the bawdy, wickedly funny pieces with some truly poignant palate cleansers, including the heartrending “My Mother, My Daughter,” the story of her mother’s declining health and eventual death. She also confronts her struggles with Crohn’s disease, poverty, blackness, and body image, and, in some truly vulnerable, moving passages, she nakedly displays her earnest desires for romantic love. Irby’s voice is raw, gripping, and sings a clear tune many female readers will find themselves grooving to. And, for good measure, she includes some recipes. Delicious. --Courtney Jones