Are you there, vodka? It's me, Chelsea is a collection of personal essays in which Handler's sexual escapades, drunken mistakes, and family drama are recorded. While each essay is as absurd as it is crude, Handler deviates from your run of the mill comedian by keeping it personal; she doesn't take cheap shots at anyone but herself . . . well, most of the time.
The book spans across Handler's life by first introducing us readers to a 9-year old Handler who, in an effort to no longer be deemed a loser (which she blames on her father's 1967 banana yellow Yugo), informs her 3rd grade class that she and Goldie Hawn are working on Private Benjamin 2 together (which doesn't exist). Tales from her teenage years follow next where babysitting ventures turn awry until Handler neatly leads us to her present day shenanigans. While there are some particularly amusing pieces about Chelsea's overweight, cheapskate dad (whom she affectionately calls "Sugar Tits"), her time in jail after a DUI, and a Japanese massage gone wrong, my own personal favorite was the tale of "Big Red".
"Along with 97% of women who can see, I have never been a fan of redheaded men," said Handler. That is, until she meets Austin. "I liked his body instantly, but his head was a different story. 'How,' I wanted to ask, 'could you think that a bright orange Afro was acceptable?' It looked like he had gone bobbing for apples in a barrel filled with Fanta orange soda." While Handler's romance with "Big Red" doesn't last long, reading the string of puns, offhand remarks, and sarcastic punches was pure entertainment. In many ways, her essay on "Big Red" and his "Hawaiian punch head" confirms her knack as a storyteller and a comedian.
It is also worth noting that Handler's book was so popular that NBC is making a sitcom based on the essays set to be released in Fall 2011. Yeah, it's true. All I will say on the subject is that it is this reader's experience that movies/television/miniseries, etc. based on a book are never as good. That's right, never; case in point: the Harry Potter series.
So dear readers, if you enjoy anecdotes on the perils of having your boyfriend dog sit, the necessity of re-gifting, and vacationing in Costa Rica with your dad, this is the perfect fit for you. Handler convinced this reader to re-think the application of that heinous term "beach read", so challenge yourself fellow readers. Curl up with a bottle of Ketel One and enjoy.
Currently reading:
#1 Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski
#2 The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte
