With less than 150 pages filled with short essays ranging from about 4-15 pages in length, An Idiot Girl’s Christmas is an easy read about Notaro’s Christmas memories, perfect for those times when you only have a few minutes here and there to read. It is a far cry from your usual Christmas story, but that uniqueness makes it stand out. Hilariousness ensues as she talks about the hijinks she’s encountered over the years, many of which left me literally laughing out loud. It has a very National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation feel, just waiting to see what would go wrong next. She kicks off with a snarky letter to her mom about what she really wants for Christmas. Another story finds Notaro with a Christmas Eve emergency, when she “had an unscheduled, unannounced guest, one form whom I had no present but who had a present for me. It was My Special Friend, weeks ahead of schedule,” and the rush to remedy the issue, resulting in a late night trip to K-Mart, being ridiculed by teenage boys.
While An Idiot Girl’s Christmas would likely be most appreciated around the holiday season, it was an entertaining read that made me extremely thankful for the quiet Christmases in my life (knock on wood). Like any book of it’s type, most of Notaro’s essays were spot-on hilarity, however, a couple felt like duds in my book. Although I had not previously heard of her, I am now looking forward to picking up Notaro’s other books in the future. This would be a good read for someone short on time or fans of Jennifer Lancaster’s memoirs.
