Endearing? Or self-indulgent?
"The Beauty Experiment: How I skipped lipstick, ditched fashion, faced the world without concealer, and learned to love the real me" ... was given low marks by another reviewer - and I may know why. At the start, Phoebe Baker Hyde sets up her autobiographical tale (of turning away from everyday feminine conventions like makeup and designer duds) by giving readers a detailed account of her move to China along with her husband and soon-to-be newborn.
The focus is very much on HER and this intro reads as if she's a bit self-indulgent. Potentially whiny even. I mean, I wouldn't mind being in China. But, then, being in another country as a lifestyle is VERY different from being there as a tourist. I know from whence I speak. But I digress! There is GOOD reason for her to be focused on her self.
The entire book is about HER experience, after all. Not anyone else's. And, if we don't have an understanding of what's going on in her thought process or what motivated her to get all glammed up and sexified in the first place, we can't truly understand why she'd veer off in the other direction and/or find that experience any different or more/less rewarding.
The moral of this review? You DO have to get through Phoebe Baker Hyde's set up to get to the meat of this story: The bits you're dying to get to. And it's worth the wait, seeing as she weaves wit and familiar tensions into her narrative. What I wish she'd included? Pics of herself snapped throughout her journey - but I choose to see this as a positive.
It tells me that she didn't do this JUST to have reason to write a book and wasn't consciously intending to exploit her experience. And I appreciate that. Overall, "The Beauty Experiment" isn't an I-can't-put-it-down expose or voracious read, but it is WORTH a read.
"The Beauty Experiment: How I skipped lipstick, ditched fashion, faced the world without concealer, and learned to love the real me" ... was given low marks by another reviewer - and I may know why. At the start, Phoebe Baker Hyde sets up her autobiographical tale (of turning away from everyday feminine conventions like makeup and designer duds) by giving readers a detailed account of her move to China along with her husband and soon-to-be newborn.
The focus is very much on HER and this intro reads as if she's a bit self-indulgent. Potentially whiny even. I mean, I wouldn't mind being in China. But, then, being in another country as a lifestyle is VERY different from being there as a tourist. I know from whence I speak. But I digress! There is GOOD reason for her to be focused on her self.
The entire book is about HER experience, after all. Not anyone else's. And, if we don't have an understanding of what's going on in her thought process or what motivated her to get all glammed up and sexified in the first place, we can't truly understand why she'd veer off in the other direction and/or find that experience any different or more/less rewarding.
The moral of this review? You DO have to get through Phoebe Baker Hyde's set up to get to the meat of this story: The bits you're dying to get to. And it's worth the wait, seeing as she weaves wit and familiar tensions into her narrative. What I wish she'd included? Pics of herself snapped throughout her journey - but I choose to see this as a positive.
It tells me that she didn't do this JUST to have reason to write a book and wasn't consciously intending to exploit her experience. And I appreciate that. Overall, "The Beauty Experiment" isn't an I-can't-put-it-down expose or voracious read, but it is WORTH a read.
