She finds the funny in the terrible — and thankfully for us readers, takes pleasure in making us laugh, too ... Irby has a keen ability to root out the absurd in the mundanities of her existence and life in general, then mine that absurdity for laughs ... Irby’s slightly askew perspective allows for some interesting views ... She takes readers in winding, surprising, emotionally vulnerable and strange directions, but you can ultimately see what she’s driving at. It all rings true — and it’s riotously funny, too.
She never wallows in loathing, self- or otherwise. Instead, she lets us all in on the joke. And what a joke it is ... Calling Quietly Hostile a collection of essays is a bit limiting. These 17 pieces are more like essays crossed with stand-up bits, and that punchline-driven rhythm serves the book spectacularly well ... Irby dexterously plays both sides: the awkward people-pleaser and the snarky cynic. Like a cartoon character in a tennis match against herself, she races back and forth between self-deprecation and scalding humor, never once missing a stroke. People may be shallow, Irby is more than happy to point out, but she's right down there with them — quietly hostile, sure, but also loudly irresistible.
A masterclass in situating pitch-perfect comedy and deep sincerity side by side ... Delightfully bizarre ... Irby is a truly hilarious writer and mines laughs from the wildest situations.
Another collection of humorous, self reflective essays. She is at her comic best in several pieces ... There’s tons of emotional depth hidden under the layers of comedy.
Irby shows off her wit, empathy, and self-deprecating humor in this animated collection ... Bouncing between irreverence and poignancy, this keeps the laughs coming while serving up intimate personal reflection and entertaining cultural commentary. Irby’s fans will be glad to find her in top form.
Another collection of wide-ranging personal essays ... Scatological humor aside, Irby’s most successful essays are her most vulnerable ... At the line level, the author’s humor and wordplay positively sizzle, and her chapter titles are characteristically amusing ... Some of the essays carry on too long, bogging readers down in repetitious detail ... A mostly hilarious book about embracing life's least flattering situations.
