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54th out of 83 books
—
399 voters
Dark at the Roots: A Memoir
by
Sarah Thyre
Given the Nickname "Family Liar" by her father around the time she started talking, Sarah Thyre was the second of five children to be born into a southern family of Roman Catholics. Confused by this endearment, but eager to live up to it, Sarah quickly managed to get herself into precarious situations. Whether it is small Sarah accidentally going "poddy" in the garage duri...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
February 27th 2007
by Counterpoint
(first published 2007)
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This book--what I read of it--was OK. The author is the same age as me, so there were a lot of amusing references to things I totally remember as a kid... but that is really the only reason I didn't quit this book earlier. I know a lot of people have loved this book; while the author has some clever things to say, this book just didn't "grab" me, and I don't finish books or movies that don't have that certain, very clever hook I am looking for.
I ordered the first chapter as a free sample from Amazon and got a kick out of what I read, so I decided to order the book. Then, as I got further into it, I was less enamored. There were times when I felt the author had to be making things up--little details here and there that seemed hyperbolic for the sake of humor, (which would be fine if this were labeled solely as Humor, but it's a Memoir). Other times I felt that some of the vignettes were a little pointless; was there something I was mis...more
I found this on a shelf at the dollar store for a dollar. Due to it was at the dollar store. And bought it because Sarah Thyre makes me laugh my ass off on Twitter, and also sometimes think. Good books on shelves at the dollar store is a sad thing, in some ways, but also a happy thing because I didn't even know Sarah Thyre had a book and wouldn't have bought it if it weren't so cost effective.
Sarah Thyre is a terrific writer. This is a wonderful book. There is no filler. It is hilarious, well co...more
Sarah Thyre is a terrific writer. This is a wonderful book. There is no filler. It is hilarious, well co...more
Jul 03, 2012
Kimberly Hicks
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Kimberly by:
Goodreads
Shelves:
read-on-kindle
Sarah Thyre is a witty, outrageously funny person. Her sarcastic sense of humor was off the charts. She hit punchlines much like Rosie O'Donnell and/or Ellen, which is what I loved about this memoir. I could relate to many aspects of her upbringing.
Sarah's family was like a group of nomads--moving from state to state and city to city, which I think is why she developed such a great sense of humor. However, having said that, I found the story one-sided because it was basically about her school li...more
Sarah's family was like a group of nomads--moving from state to state and city to city, which I think is why she developed such a great sense of humor. However, having said that, I found the story one-sided because it was basically about her school li...more
Sarah Thyre first rocked my world when she played the gym teacher on Strangers With Candy, so when I spied this book I immediately checked it out. Comparisons to David Sedaris will abound, but Thyre is more like Sedaris without shame, guilt, or apologies. She's blunt, honest, hilarious, ribald, ballsy, obnoxious, nasty, and heartbreaking (the excerpts about her father are just devastating). She does get a bit scatalogical at times (I mean poo, people), and has an odd fixation on body odor, but t...more
Did you know Sarah Thyre is married to Andy Richter? I did not, and was surprised/pleased to learn this information. Anyway, I am sad to have finished reading Dark at the Roots, as it is a series of humorous vignettes about the author's tormented childhood, and the format and content are simply perfect for reading at bedtime. I don't know what I'll read now that I've finished. The stories are equal parts horrifying and hilarious, which makes for compelling reading. I'm personally always gratifie...more
This is actually a memoir or collection of memoirs of Sarah Thyre's life. I heard her interview on NPR and though I might be interested. It sounded amusing. And it was.
Basically she narrates a collection of the most memorable or life shaping moments of her quirky and screwy life. She finds humor in the unpleasent, and her delviery of things that need no sarcasim is perfect.
It was weird in a way, that it was different than reading a straight through story. There wasn't a straight forward plot, or...more
Basically she narrates a collection of the most memorable or life shaping moments of her quirky and screwy life. She finds humor in the unpleasent, and her delviery of things that need no sarcasim is perfect.
It was weird in a way, that it was different than reading a straight through story. There wasn't a straight forward plot, or...more
This is one of those memoirs that brought back memories from my childhood that really I could have done without, but made me feel a little better--at least I'm not the only person whose dad put a bucket in the van for use as a toilet on family trips. The author's family moved from Kansas City to Louisiana when she was a kid, and she had the typical white-trash upbringing--mean father, weird Christian mom, crummy clothes, moments of suddenly realizing she's poor and people think she's trashy.
And...more
And...more
(note that i tried to give this book 2 1/2 stars, which doesn't seem to be possible using the goodreads rating system....)
this book was a tough read for me. having previously read augusten burroughs childhood memoir, running with scissors -- which was funny and awesome as well as disturbing -- and also david sedaris' me talk pretty one day, which was full of good humor, thyre's book just left me feeling super depressed.
not that there weren't funny moments, because there were. my particular favor...more
this book was a tough read for me. having previously read augusten burroughs childhood memoir, running with scissors -- which was funny and awesome as well as disturbing -- and also david sedaris' me talk pretty one day, which was full of good humor, thyre's book just left me feeling super depressed.
not that there weren't funny moments, because there were. my particular favor...more
This was a very enjoyable partially bawdy book. I really had no idea of the author's comedy chops when I began it. Apparently she appeared on Strangers with Candy and she is married to Andy Richter. This book is very similiar in style and content to David Sedaris (there are five children in Sarah's family as well) and Haven Kimmel's memoir "A Girl Named Zippy." Worthwhile as a quick, fun read when your in the mood for some dysfunctional family stories.
Clever and funny, Sarah Thyre is able to capture an audience with her tales of dramatic woe and malevolent mischievousness. Quite simply: she's kind of, really awesome.
Her dishonesty is mixed with good intentions--and her Catholic upbringing, numerous siblings, and ability to end up in crazy situations makes her story entertaining, and hard to put down.
It was a quick read (two days) and enjoyable, as well. Sarah Thyre has a knack for capturing the audience and telling a story.
Her dishonesty is mixed with good intentions--and her Catholic upbringing, numerous siblings, and ability to end up in crazy situations makes her story entertaining, and hard to put down.
It was a quick read (two days) and enjoyable, as well. Sarah Thyre has a knack for capturing the audience and telling a story.
I listened to this as an audio book, but the format is not listed for some reason (or I couldn't find it anyhow).
Wow, what a detailed and honest book. Like most books written by comedy writers/performers, it's a bit blunt, and there are parts likely offensive to some (nothing too horrifying though, re really). Very entertaining and well written and narrated.
Wow, what a detailed and honest book. Like most books written by comedy writers/performers, it's a bit blunt, and there are parts likely offensive to some (nothing too horrifying though, re really). Very entertaining and well written and narrated.
Dark, funny, disgusting, sad, oh and did I say disgusting? The hygine obsessive compulsive in me was gagging while I was reading this on my morning and evening commutes during some of the scenes Thyre describes in her childhood. I was however delighted to find out that she was the gym teacher from Strangers with Candy (one of the best tv shows ever!).
I'm about 2/3 or the way through, and I'm really enjoying this. I can see exactly how it was constructed, given that my book has a similar narrative. It's funny and sad and ordinary and brilliant. I hope SarahThyre writes more books. I know she's busy with the Richter and the comedy and the acting, but her voice is unique and I want more of it.
Well this memoir was a kick to read, but I'm not if high school students will enjoy it. The author is a writer/actress who looks familiar to me but I'm not sure from where. The jacket says she has been on Conan O'Brien so maybe that's where I've seen her. [return]The cover of the book is awesome. Gotta love the freaky doll. My daughter wanted to read it and she's only four. She was very disappointed that there weren't any pictures. [return]The author had an interesting life. Her dad was strange...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I can see how it would be a bit much for some people and cross over the funny line into gross-out territory. Truly written from the heart with absolutely no shame Sarah lets us into her childhood, strange sights, smells and all. I absolutely love that she gets in trouble all the time correcting her teachers and her sexual exploits really cracked me up. I found myself comforted that I may not have been the weirdest kid to ever live! We probably would've go...more
I have very mixed feelings about this book. It wasn't as funny as I had hoped it would be, but the author's completely dysfunctional childhood was sort of fascinating to read about it. It took me two weeks to finish this, which is almost never a good sign, but I do have to give Sarah Thyre some credit for unflinchingly putting such embarrassing details about herself out there for the world to read.
From the moment young Sarah gives a fake name to a security guard in a shopping mall while he announces her name over the loud speaker to the time she sweet talks a dentist into giving her braces that her father will pay for, Sarah’s attempts at better life are not just fraught with peril, but humiliation and laughter. None of the incidents are extraordinary, but they are recognizable for their ordinariness and made unique by Sarah’s quirky worldview.Teens will find Sarah’s teenage attempts to p...more
I laughed out loud and could really feel for her. How refreshing & fascinating that she shared, without ego, her interesting, bizarre, hilarious & sometimes painful childhood with us.
I particularly related to her description of an old family car:
"The floor had begun to rust through. I could see little patches of road rushing by my feet when I sat in the passenger seat."
I particularly related to her description of an old family car:
"The floor had begun to rust through. I could see little patches of road rushing by my feet when I sat in the passenger seat."
Eh, I was rather disappointed in this book. From all of the blurbs on the back, I expected it to be Laff-Out-Loud-Hilarious, but it was more sad than anything else. And not sad in the cry-your-eyes-out-this-is-a-great-book way. Sorry, Sarah, I hope your life is better now, but your book left me cold.
Thyre does a great job capturing what it is like growing up lower-middle class. I love the part where she sews the Lacoste alligator to her shorts, mostly because I remember a friend who used to sew the Levi's tag onto her jeans.
I had high hopes for this one - I do love stories about dysfunctional southern familes (Prince of Tides, YaYa, etc.)
I was sold when i read the first line on the back referring to her mother who led a prayer group "sipping martinis while pondering chapter and verse"
There was a lot of funny in it and some dark stuff but when i was done i really felt like there was no teeth to it. I just kind of wanted to tell her, "WHAA - boo - hoo for you, you pretty much had a typical, non-rich kid, growin up i...more
I was sold when i read the first line on the back referring to her mother who led a prayer group "sipping martinis while pondering chapter and verse"
There was a lot of funny in it and some dark stuff but when i was done i really felt like there was no teeth to it. I just kind of wanted to tell her, "WHAA - boo - hoo for you, you pretty much had a typical, non-rich kid, growin up i...more
This book was great. It was a bit dark at times, but the author tells her life story in a way that you laugh and then go wait that is not funny, yet the way she describes her life was funny. I loved this book.
Dark at the Roots is a collection of essays about Thayer's life as she grew up in the South. A strict Catholic upbringing, poverty, divorce and struggles with honesty are some of the prevailing themes throughout the memoir. While the chapters are in a chronological order, there's still something lacking in that the book doesn't seem to have any narrative or specific theme to pull it together. Thayer is very intelligent and her use of language is impressive, which is the main thing that kept me r...more
This was a great book. It was both heartbreakingly sad and hysterically funny. Sometimes I laughed out loud at the way she worded things. Read this, you'll like it, especially if you like David Sedaris-type writing.
If you don't find this book hysterical, you have a bad sense of humor. One of my faves, she writes about her outrageous childhood and adolescence in a way that is honest, engaging and funny.
I really enjoyed the sarcastic humor of this book! Sarah Thyre tells stories about growing up in a dysfunctional family that are simply hilarious. Not a read for people who are easily offended.
A gross memoir of growing up as poor white trash. Actually she's a discredit to this group. I stopped half way as I was not enjoying it. The author is on Comedy Centrals "Stranger with Candy".
Ab
So
lute
ly
HILARIOUS! I laughed out loud at so many parts! This chick has quite the way with words! And I could relate to so many of her anecdotes and behaviors. I saw myself in her.
My only negative thing is that the book just ended. None of that epiphany shit, or moral-of-the-story story-wrapping-up. It just ended! As if she was getting ready to move on to a new topic, but then not.
All righty then.
But I give it 5 stars for the giggle factor. Cuz I giggled and giggled. A lot.
Oh, and apparently...more
So
lute
ly
HILARIOUS! I laughed out loud at so many parts! This chick has quite the way with words! And I could relate to so many of her anecdotes and behaviors. I saw myself in her.
My only negative thing is that the book just ended. None of that epiphany shit, or moral-of-the-story story-wrapping-up. It just ended! As if she was getting ready to move on to a new topic, but then not.
All righty then.
But I give it 5 stars for the giggle factor. Cuz I giggled and giggled. A lot.
Oh, and apparently...more
I've been having the worst time getting into a book lately. This hit the spot. Funny, interesting, relatable, moving. First book I've finished in over a month.
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“I like liars.
Liars care enough to make the world
a more interesting place than it actually is.”
—
2 people liked it
More quotes…
Liars care enough to make the world
a more interesting place than it actually is.”
