Book Review: The Book of Joan


This month I've read, The Book of Joan, written by Melissa Rivers in honor of her mother's memory.  I liked Joan Rivers in her early days and really enjoy watching reruns of her old talk show on JLTV.  I wanted to 'find' that Joan Rivers once more in the pages of her daughter's book...

Melissa's book is not so much a memory of her mother as a compilation of Joan's one liners and a plethora of her own.  The humor in it is harsh at times and the language is sometimes questionable.  What I found was that Melissa's 'voice' is much the same as Joan in the latter years.  I find it difficult to believe that some of the supposed conversations took place at the young ages Melissa suggests they might have. 

If you are looking for sweet memories of a loving mom, or a history of Joan's early years, then look elsewhere.  The book becomes an unrelenting and never ending 'routine' and isn't really anything more than overly long script for a final appearance. 

This book provided for review by Blogging for Books

2 comments:

Louise said...

I avoid anything about Joan Rivers... I disliked her foul jokes and language. I definitely would not have considered reading this book.. Glad to hear I am not the only one.

Anonymous said...

Louise, I wouldnt read it either. She sure was foul mouthed. Not my kind of humor.