MixedThe Observer (UK)Sometimes unnecessary detail ... Only sometimes, when, among the forensically detailed recollections, there’s a sneaking sense of the real Cher, the one we’re very keen to get to know, standing behind carefully frosted glass. Still, in the main, Part One makes for a hearty, full-blooded read.
Deborah Frances-White
PositiveThe GuardianThis message is important – after all, most women end up practising what I’d term (ahem) \'bespoke\' feminism. Certainly it seems counterproductive to reduce the rich, complicated arena of modern feminism to the level of a New Year resolution ... Frances-White doesn’t make the mistake of diluting feminism to the point where the term verges on meaningless – The Guilty Feminist covers an admirable amount of feminist territory, historical and ideological ... She makes it clear that she doesn’t care if people sometimes disagree with her views – the aim is to amplify the female voice per se ... Frances-White sees the funny side of her feminist stumbles and misfires, and she wants other women to relax a little too.
Robin Green
PositiveThe GuardianGreen paints a vivid picture of being at the epicenter of the new rock’n’roll bohemian culture with the Rolling Stone crowd ... The Only Girl perhaps couldn’t be viewed as a definitive book on the burgeoning rock’n’roll era, or even on Rolling Stone, as it has an eccentric, wilful, albeit charming, tendency to weave, back and forth, through time zones, with Green mulling and remulling (and even re-re-mulling) on people, events and thoughts, seemingly as the mood takes her. Not that it matters—there are already books on Rolling Stone, and on the era, the majority of which are written by men. This one is about a woman navigating the uncharted territory of her crazy expanding new world, not only armed with the requisite \'groovy\' access-all-areas pass, but also the self-awareness, humor, and resilience that an \'only girl\' needs.
Aziz Ansari & Eric Klinenberg
PositiveThe GuardianAnsari is particularly funny on such matters as sexting, the self-defeating ubiquity of dating site male openers ('Hey', 'Whassup?') and the perfect online dating photo (cleavage for females, and scuba diving for males, apparently). What emerges is a book that is somewhat inconclusive (how could it not be on such a vast subject?), but is nonetheless entertaining and illuminating ... Ansari comes across as a decent, thoughtful, amusing guy, with a genuine interest in the modern dating whirl, on behalf of males and females alike.
