Have to agree with you on Americannah! It’s brilliant. I read a lot and there are only a few books that I really remember the feeling of reading and that’s one of them!Not that my opinion is worth much but I’ll still give it. Americanah is worth the hype and everyone should check it out who hasn’t. Takes a small amount of commitment to get into but once you are, you’re hooked. That golden formula of a page turner with literary merit. The perspective on race in America still feels unique, even if there Is much more of a discussion on the wider topic then there was when this was written. It might even teach you something. Not said condescendingly, it taught me a hell of a lot.
The interestings is also a damn good read. It probably won’t teach you quite as much about society Etc but it’s a damn good story to get stuck into and also a page turner if you commit. Reminds me of Jonathan Franzen if anyone has read him.
A little life is controversial. People love it. I hated it. Two words : Misery porn.
oh what do you mean this isn’t the book thread ?
Agree with everything. I think Pandora’s tone is why I subconsciously had her pegged as a talented writer but when I actually read her work I find it full of waffles and weird turns of phrase that don’t scan well.Dolly has some interesting thoughts, seems quite sensitive to different issues and has a wide range of cultural references, which I appreciate.
Pandora seems quite dim. I have never heard her say anything perceptive or interesting. She mainly seems to just sum up or repeats things. The original takes she does offer are so obvious, I just find myself cringing. She has an authoritative way of talking, which masks her deficiencies somewhat.
I do find them both quite glamorous and stylish.
I heard that too and figured they’d definitely had a peekAm I just imagining it or did Dolly’s mention on this week’s podcast of “maybe we really aren’t for the people” allude to this thread?
Wow not great at all are they! Pandora clearly reads a lot, sounds like she's used this book as an opportunity to just shove together things she has learnt from others.The reviews on Waterstones for Pandora's book seem to be much more critical than elsewhere. I think I trust these ones most...
How Do We Know We're Doing It Right? by Pandora Sykes | Waterstones
Buy How Do We Know We're Doing It Right? by Pandora Sykes from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.www.waterstones.com
ouch. Hope Panda’s got some cream for those sick burnsThe reviews on Waterstones for Pandora's book seem to be much more critical than elsewhere. I think I trust these ones most...
How Do We Know We're Doing It Right? by Pandora Sykes | Waterstones
Buy How Do We Know We're Doing It Right? by Pandora Sykes from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.www.waterstones.com
oohh couldn’t agree with you more. While Dolly occasionally annoys me a little I genuinely like her and feel like she’s a little lost. I enjoyed her book and she is very sweet and caring and so giving. I also agree re drinking. I recognise my younger self in her. Wild in a way that seems fun while you’re in it but when you see it through sober eyes it’s scary and sad. I think back to what I used to put myself through with alcohol and just feel like it’s wasted years waking up every day in the horrors.Very grateful for having found this thread. I've listened to their podcast for a while and have noticed some things that have really started to irk me.
Dolly-- As others have mentioned a few pages back here, it seems she does have a drinking problem. Her drinking stories remind me a lot of my own, from when I was in my early twenties. I'm sober now. It's just not a sustainable lifestyle, but she romanticises it to a worrying degree. She seems so entrenched in her wild, party-girl persona; I wonder how difficult it will be for her to shake. Otherwise, I actually find her enjoyable to listen to-- articulate, funny and kind.
Pandora-- Try-hard boarding school pseudo-intellectual. The way she speaks and writes is so painfully forced and flowery. Her poor book reviews are reflecting this, I think. Moreover, she can be so bitchy towards Dolly...! Has anyone else picked up on this? It really makes me cringe because I think it shows just how insecure she is. I would never put down a close friend or colleague the way she does with Dolly. Shocked to read here that she's also a smoker, although actually, you can sort of tell by looking at her skin... Don't smoke, kids.
I have a friend who works in fashion who worked with Pandora a couple of times before the podcast came out. She says she came across as very cold and vain.
Well, that really explains her writing! As others have mentioned, her work does often seem very ‘undergraduate rambling essay’ in style.I think it might be professional envy. Dolly is a much better writer. I also remember reading an interview with Panda where she states that she doesn’t have any journalism qualification as she doesn’t believe it’s valuable and it is a profession that can be learnt on the job. To an extent I can see where she’s coming from but the dismissal of the qualification pissed me off. I effing love good journalism and while there are some great journalists who have taken a non linear route, there is such value in completing a rigorous course in your field.
Pandora has always been incredibly vain.I have a friend who works in fashion who worked with Pandora a couple of times before the podcast came out. She says she came across as very cold and vain.
The extract posted a few pages ago reads like a basic/budget version of Trick Mirror (which I loved).It doesn’t surprise me that reviews for Pandora’s essays are poor. It’s a highly demanding format and distilling complex cultural ideas and actions into readable esssys takes a huge intellect - and she is no intellectual- more a sub sub Naomi Woolf.
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