I Know I Am But What Are You
By Samantha Bee
Gallery Books, 2010
Reviewed by Kim Stahler
Samantha Bee is most recently known for being pregnant constantly on The Daily Show. I wish she was on more often, because she has great timing and a caustic wit that pairs well with her sweetly innocent face. I once saw her in Manhattan, in line at the NBC store, of all places. No one was bothering her, so I decided to by yelling across the long line how much I enjoyed her edgy humor on the show. She responded kindly and said she was embarrassed to be seen buying a Friends mug -- for a friend. Right, Samantha!
I was delighted to hear that she had a book coming out, and now I hope she will write more. If you want to find out about how she feels about working on the show, read her interviews, because this is about her Canadian Gen-X childhood. I can't believe she mentioned "footies" and many other Gen-X oddities. She has had some truly bizarre experiences, and she is very self-effacing at skewering her own cluelessness, arrogance, and nerdiness as a teenager. I love it when a book makes me laugh out loud; this one did.
The chapters are all separate tales. The one I enjoyed the most told of her housemate and her competing for the attention of a handsome but unwashed new tenant they took in. I'd love to hear more about her relationship with her (JFK Jr-looking) husband Jason Jones, also on The Daily Show, and the story of how they met is both humiliating and well told. The description of her beloved grandmother is also excellent.
People will compare her to David Sedaris (whom I adore) and Chelsea Handler (eh), but you can also put this book in the same category as Laurie Notaro of The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club.
First published on the blog 7/29/2010
