The Story
From the cover flap:
Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck-impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence, “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”
Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!
In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door – not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.
The Response
While reading Amy Poehler’s Yes Please (review), one of my coworkers suggested that I pick up Kaling’s book. It was, in her opinion, something that I would really enjoy. So, after a mishap at the library (where someone else took out the book despite the fact that it was put aside on hold for me), I finally got my grubby little paws on this.
Once I finally started Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, I managed to read it over the span of a couple of days. It’s a very quick read; Mindy is a relatable narrator, especially for those who may not have had the easiest time fitting in at school. This is a very humorous look at events that happened in her life, as well as things that are important for her.
For those who may not be familiar with her, Mindy Kaling is a comedian, comedy writer, actor, etc etc etc. She’s known for writing for The Office; she also had a smaller character in this show (as most of her time was taken up with writing it sounds like). This book was written before The Office finished, so doesn’t include anything about The Mindy Project (which I have just started watching, and find absolutely hilarious).
The way Kaling formatted this book worked really well. Not every single chapter was about an event in her life – for example, one was about selfies on her phone, and another one was about things that make her cry. Kaling came across as being very sincere in her writing; in the chapters where Kaling was writing about her own insecurities now and growing up, she makes herself very human and relatable. It led for a lot of variety in the book, and better showcased her different writing styles and techniques.
It’s obvious from reading this book that Kaling is an extremely talented, extremely funny writer.
The Bottom Line
This book will definitely give you a good laugh. Recommended to fans of comedians memoirs.
