The reviews are in for Tina Fey’s Bossypants, and they’re generally positive, with a few veering into glowing-like-a-supernova territory. Several compare Fey to Nora Ephron, and nearly all mention Sarah Palin, but there seems to be one thing the reviewers can’t agree on: Is Bossypants a memoir or what?
Newsweek says that “this is a memoir, not a humor sketch.†ABC and USA Today call it a straight-up “memoir,†but the L.A. Times uses the more reserved “Fey simply tells stories of her life†and “manages to completely avoid a memoir’s biggest pitfall — oblivious narcissism …†NPR goes a step further, saying that “the book itself is not a true memoir, so don’t go looking for an easy path through Fey’s life; or for the secrets to her success.†Entertainment Weekly says it’s a “genially jumbled memoir-esque collection,†while Janeane Garofalo, writing for All Things Considered, calls it “not so much a memoir as it is a sort of here’s-what-happened-and-why-I think-this kind of book.†The New York Times is more hard-core, insisting that Bossypants “isn’t a memoir.†Make up your minds, book reviewers!