Tuesday, April 21, 2009

"I'm Perfect, You're Doomed" by Kyria Abrahams


If you like watching train wrecks as they happen, then "I'm Perfect, You're Doomed" is about as darkly funny a wreck as you'll find.  The book follows the upbringing of Ms. Abrahams, who was raised a devout Jehovah's Witness.  Then again, is there any type of Jehovah's Witness except devout?  You'd probably be surprised at the answer.

I've always been fascinated by religion.  Not any particular religion, mind you, just the concept of religion in general.  I think I would have enjoyed majoring in theology, except for the part where they make you pick ONE, because I like learning about all of them.  I learned more about being a Jehovah's Witness while reading "I'm Perfect, You're Doomed" than I expected.  There is even a helpful glossary in the back of the book, albeit a sarcastic one.

Ms. Abrahams is one of those actors that takes a potential for tragedy and spins it into comedy.  She is, in a word, similar to myself.  When I'm most upset, I also crack relentless jokes, which is often confusing for those that don't know me. 

TTDKM: "How can you joke about cancer?"
Me: "How can you not?" *

Ms. Abrahams manages to be informative about her former religion while also being hilarious (she was disfellowshipped, a word the meaning of which you will discover upon reading).  She presents her personal history with the perception of one who's been through the storm, got soaked thoroughly, and realized what a great story that storm would make, and how funny it would be to write about being struck by lightning and pelted by hail.  The book is laugh-out-loud funny.  (No LOL, here, because the humor deserves to be spelled out.)

I look forward to reading it again and again.

*  For those not in the know:  No, I don't think cancer in and of itself is funny, but I sure as hell did my best to make it funny when I had it as a teenager, much to the consternation of the chemotherapy clinic nurses.


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