Sprinkle Glitter on My Grave: Observations, Rants, and Other Uplifting Thoughts About Life by Jill Kargman ISBN: 0399594574
Published by Ballantine Books on September 6th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Family Life, Humorous, Memoir
Pages: 224
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Imagine if New York A-lister Nora Ephron had a love child with America’s most-loved comedic scribe, David Sedaris. Their spawn would be Jill Kargman, the bestselling novelist turned satirist and star of Bravo’s break-out scripted comedy, Odd Mom Out. Now Kargman shares her razor-sharp wit and backhanded wisdom in a deeply observed and outrageously funny collection of musings, lists, essays, and outrages. From the life-affirming outlook she got from her death-obsessed family (including the antithesis to her Goth aesthetic, ray of sunshine sister-in-law Drew Barrymore) to the appreciation for land (and limbs) she got from swimming with sharks off the South African coast, to the adrenaline-pumping experience that is a Gay Pride parade, Sprinkle Glitter on My Grave is a book about life, death, and everything that happens in between, that will both entertain and inspire.
MY THOUGHTS
I have now read all of Jill Kargman’s books and I don’t think I have ever been disappointed with any of them. This one is like ripping out her notes on her iPhone without a lot of editing. From reading this, you think: I could be friends with this woman, even though she comes from a rarefied background. Even though she grew up with money, her parents instilled in her humility and being thankful for what you have. This is probably why she doesn’t really fit in with the elite and why her show, Odd Mom Out, is such a hit.
I loved the little details of her growing up and having advantages of going to summer camp and good schools, but it didn’t seem like she was bragging about them. She makes sure to point out that her parents brought her up right, which is why she can call out those Momzilla’s so easily on her television show. There are a few abbreviations that were bewildering to me like BTdubs that took me a minute to figure out was BTW – by the way. Probably because I don’t text that much. Much of the short essays probably were cribbed from them. LOL.
My favorite story is the one that pulls the title in. Jill’s daughter tells her that she will sprinkle glitter on her grave so it is always there. I don’t know why but that little exchange had such meaning for me. Glitter never dies.
