For some reason and I cannot quite put my finger on it but, as a person I am not a massive Caitlin Moran fan. I think it is possibly has something to do with the column that she has in The Times supplement magazine every Saturday morning. To me, in her column she comes across as a 40 something who still thinks she is a rebellious teenager who has an angst with everyone and everything and a lot of what she writes has exceedingly strong feminist views (that are thrust upon you like a religion), amd very little of it seems to have much of a point to it.
However, that is Caitlin Moran, the journalist, Caitlin Moran the author is someone I do like and ‘How to be Famous’ is a follow up to ‘How to Build a Girl’ which tracked the life of teenager Johanna ‘Dolly Wilde’ Morrigan from Wolverhampton, who left home at a very young age in Britpop Britain for the bright lights of London with the aim of making it as a music journalist.
‘How to be Famous’ picks up pretty much where we left off in the previous book and we find Dolly, whose now 19, feeling sheepish still from her relationship sex shame with her boss, Tony Rich and meeting and interviewing all the great 90s Britpop stars for the magazine. Dolly is also still in love with John Kite, the first musician that she ever interviewed and John has promised when she is old enough they will fall in love.
Her dad and brother come to spend the weekend with her so that they can all go to a Blur concert but her dad is so stoned before they go that she leaves him behind. As she queues to get in she recognises Jerry Sharp, the famous funny comedian who he isn’t getting without a ticket so Dolly offers him the spare ticket. One drunken evening later, Dolly finds herself back at Jerry’s and finds out that he has some weird fetishes when it comes to sex.
The story then unfolds as Jerry shames Dolly publicly, she quits her job, her father won’t go home and she just longs for John Kite to come back to the UK from his tour. How to be Famous is an excellent and funny story possibly based upon some of Moran’s own life experiences of trying to make it as a journalist, learning from your mistakes and falling in love.
From early on, Moran’s writing style has you hooked which helps to make it a great holiday read as you while your days away by the pool. If you have teenage daughters of your own (I have !!) some of it will shock you, some of it will make you roll your eyes up into your head, but I promise you, you will enjoy it.
How to be Famous is a good 7-8/10 read and I hope that Dolly makes another return in Moran’s next novel (whenever that maybe) and I hope that Moran focusses more on her novel writing that her journalistic opportunities as she is so much better at it, in my honest opinion.
More information on Caitlin Moran, her journalist work and her novels can be found at https://www.caitlinmoran.co.uk/
I hope you’ve enjoyed the review and all my others and thanks for being one of the 70,000 who have taken the time to read my reviews.
Canberralover
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