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Maeve in America

Essays by a Girl from Somewhere Else

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
“If Tina Fey and David Sedaris had a daughter, she would be Maeve Higgins.” Glamour
A startlingly hilarious essay collection about one woman’s messy path to finding her footing in New York City, from breakout comedy star and podcaster Maeve Higgins

Maeve Higgins was a bestselling author and comedian in her native Ireland when, at the grand old age of thirty-one, she left the only home she’d ever known in search of something more and found herself in New York City. Together, the essays in Maeve in America create a smart, funny, and revealing portrait of a woman who aims for the stars but sometimes hits the ceiling and the inimitable city that helped make her who she is.
Here are stories of not being able to afford a dress for the ball, of learning to live with yourself while you’re still figuring out how to love yourself, of the true significance of realizing what sort of shelter dog you would be. Self-aware and laugh-out-loud funny, this collection is also a fearless exploration of the awkward questions in life, such as: Is clapping too loudly at a gig a good enough reason to break up with somebody? Is it ever really possible to leave home?
“Maeve Higgins is hilarious, poignant, conversational, and my favorite Irish import since U2. You’re in for a treat.” —Phoebe Robinson
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from April 9, 2018
      “Aside from getting champagne in your eye, or being snapped at by your pet toucan, bemoaning a lack of purpose is the most privileged problem in the known universe, so I won’t drone on about it,” writes comedian Higgins in the first essay of her wickedly funny collection. In the 14 pieces that follow, Higgins delivers on her promise to reach beyond the self while addressing such topics as Rent the Runway, a designer-clothes rental service, and the Muslim travel ban with incisive humor and deep humility. In her exceptional essay, “Pen as Gun,” about teaching a comedy workshop in Iraq, questions that begin with the self give rise to political and global considerations: “What if comedy, and creativity, these nebulous things I’ve devoted all these years to, are, in the grand scheme of things, unhelpful? Or even pointless?” While Higgins wisely steers clear of reducing insight to adage—“Comics taking themselves seriously have always made me laugh”—her commitment to wrestling openly and ethically with personhood and privilege suggests “that we are not alone, that we have this common language.” Higgins has the rare gift of being able to meaningfully engage with politics and social ills while remaining legitimately funny.

    • Kirkus

      May 15, 2018
      An Irish comic and writer gathers essays about her experiences living and working in the United States.In this sharp and readable book, Higgins (We Have a Good Time...Don't We?, 2013, etc.) tells the story of how she came to America as an adult still learning how to go about "the endlessly tricky business of being a regular human being." In "Rent the Runway," for example, she details her experience of renting a decidedly unmagical--but more affordable--second-choice gown for her first New York ball. The process uncovered all of the author's personal insecurities, but a moment of grace at the ball made her realize that she was more than just her attire. In "Pen as Gun," Higgins turns her attention to her profession, discussing an especially memorable experience leading a comedy workshop in Iraq. Working with Muslim comics who spoke truth to power made her acutely aware of "the sliver of shared space between comedy and tragedy," and it gave her insight into the dark humor of her Northern Irish counterparts. A keen observer of culture, the author offers timely insights about race and immigration in America. In "Aliens of Extraordinary Ability," she describes how Irish-American nostalgia often imagines an Ireland that never existed; at the same time, she muses on the privilege her "indoor ghost face" has conferred on her in America. Higgins points out how early Irish immigrants learned how to collaborate in the oppression of other minorities to get ahead but how descendants like Mike Pence continue to ignore the crucial role race played in their ascension to (white) success. Her own commitment to truth before humor emerges clearly in "Wildflowers." Unable to keep a promise to a producer that she would turn a podcast about immigration into comedy fluff, the author lost the show but maintained her integrity. Witty, humane, and topical, these essays offer an enlightened perspective on modern American culture while probing the energetic inner life of a bright young Irish comic.A warmly intelligent and insightful collection.

      COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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