“The reason the more unequal countries are so troubled is… because they are more stupid.” By which award-winning UK columnist Caitlin Moran means they totally suppress their female populations, thereby halving their potential brainpower.
Great point. Indeed, over the course of 435 thought-provoking pages, Moran hits many no-brainer bullseyes – on everything from feminism, sexism and misogyny to politics, equality and the welfare state. Whether you agree with her various stances or not is almost entirely irrelevant, because the one quality that almost all of these pieces share is that they’re very, very funny.
She’s hilarious on the serious stuff, so unsurprisingly even better on lighter subjects (Starbucks, fame, bacon, ageing, social media etiquette, etc.). Throw in a couple of pieces about her disastrous celeb encounters – including one in which she nearly blinded Robbie Williams – and you’ve got a strong early contender for one of the wittiest books of 2016.
_Olaf Tyaransen