The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer

Title: The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo
Author: Amy Schumer

Read by: Amy Schumer

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 1 minute
Source: Simon & Schuster Audio Digital Review Copy – Thank-you!

I’ll admit going into this audiobook, I didn’t know much about Amy Schumer.  I know she’s a comedian and I’ve been looking for books that make me laugh so I went for it.  What I did know about Schumer was from the ads that Comedy Central plays me while I’m listening to The Daily Show and I must say I wasn’t impressed.  They had me worried that her humor was solely based on gross out sex.  I had watched the great clip about being the last “f*&kable day” in an actress’s career.  That bit was insightful on how women are treated in Hollywood and was the type of sharp humor I enjoyed.

With only knowing that, I went into this book and realized I really enjoyed it much more than I initially thought I would.  Besides just being funny, Schumer spent much of the book on her journey to realizing her self-worth and how women tend to have a problem with this.  This book helped me to look inward and realize I do have a problem with this as well.  I like to think that my days of feeling inadequate passed with high school, but they haven’t.  Even when you try to make life a success, you still have family and friends that want to drag you down because you are successful.

That being said, Schumer did spend a fair amount of time talking about sex and crude matters.  I thought it all was told in a funny way myself.  And truthfully some of it made me think – I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that!

I enjoyed how the audiobook was narrated by Schumer herself.  As a great comic actress, she really brought the story alive.  I particularly liked how it was the story of her life including the parts of life that aren’t pretty such as her parents’ divorce and an abusive relationship Schumer once found herself in.  I loved that it was a real, authentic story, not just a glamorized version of Schumer.  She also read parts of her journals that she wrote as a teen which were hysterical.  I particularly liked that Schumer narrated the journal reading using a different voice that sounded like a teenager.  The stories of her life, family, and growing up had a familiar vibe to them as well from growing up myself in the same time period (I’m three years older than Schumer).  I also loved that the last chapter did indeed let the reader know all about the infamous lower back tattoo.

The only part of the book I didn’t really like was the funeral planning towards the end and roll call of people who should be there.  Seemed more like bragging on famous friends and didn’t really add to the story.

Favorite quotes:

“The thing I own more than most is wine, but please send more.”

“The movie Clue terrified me as a child.  I slept with a pillow on my back because the chef in that movie was stabbed in the back with a huge kitchen knife.  As if a murderer would enter my bedroom at night intent on stabbing me in the back, see that there was a pillow there, and cancel his plans.”

Overall, if you are looking for a humorous and insightful audiobook, I really recommend The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer.  I’m going to check out her movie and show now!