Caca Dolce: Essays from a Lowbrow Life

by Chelsea Martin

Funny, candid, and searchingly self-aware, this essay collection tells the story of Chelsea Martin's coming of age as an artist. We are with Chelsea as an eleven-year-old atheist, trying to will an alien visitation to her neighborhood; fighting with her stepfather and grappling with a Tourette's diagnosis as she becomes a teenager; falling under the sway of frenemies and crushes in high school; going into debt to afford what might be a meaningless education at an expensive art college; navigating the messy process of falling in love with a close friend; and struggling for independence from her emotionally manipulative father and from the family and friends in the dead-end California town that has defined her upbringing. This is a book about relationships, class, art, sex, money, and family--and about growing up weird, and poor, in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Genres: Essays, Memoir, Nonfiction, Humor, Writing, Autobiography, Biography

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2017

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm probably not Chelsea Martin's biggest fan because I'm sure she has legitimate stalkers, but I'm way up there.

Gold, gold I tell ya.

[Juliet Escoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious, weird, and smart. Chelsea Martin is a national treasure!

[Udai · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last read for 2018 which is weirdly convenient. This year has been a roller coaster in a scary good way. This year I really grew up. And in this book I watched Chelsea grow up.

This book was honest and simple and I enjoyed devouring it to the very last bit. I'm really filled with this bittersweet feeling after I've finished this. And also I feel like I have to say something that I'm not really sure of so I'll just end with this quote:
"I was disappointed, but I had been disappointed many times before, and I knew that disappointment was a feeling that not only fades but also makes future disappointments more bearable."

[Ben Loory · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed this, especially the part where she decides to stop using spoons

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book marks Chelsea's transition from fictiony weirdo genius to full-fledged essay master. This book explores the many funny (and sometimes disturbing) elements of the author/artist's young life. Caca Dolce displays a voice that is both vulnerable and assured and it's a thoroughly enjoyable collection.

[Mike Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chelsea's best yet, even though I am biased because I figure it is more or less the duty of all my friends to write hilarious, honest, tender books about their life in all its bawling and shrugging and blinking at a million calculations per second, but then again only one of my friends is Chelsea Martin, so...

[Adrian Shirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caca Dolce is a thrill. For lack of a better phrase, this book caught me off guard. The essays are disarming, simultaneously direct and elliptical, hilarious and devastating, self-reflective and yet phobic of the sentimental -- and though they cover a lot of ground, in some deeply subtle way, they all seem to orbit around experiences of class, art-making, and obsession, all kinds of obsession, in all its sweaty glory. I'm a huge fan.

[Kevin Maloney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chelsea Martin is one of my two favorite living writers (the other is Scott McClanahan). This is my favorite book by her. It has all the sass and grit and humor of her earlier work, but there's an added layer of vulnerability and honesty. Gonna be hard to beat The Sarah Book & Caca Dolce as my top picks of 2017.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read and loved all Chelsea Martin's published books. This one was my favorite. It had all the qualities I liked in the others (except visual art scattered throughout) but was longer giving me more time to get sucked in.

[Paige Mcgreevy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't cackled out loud on the subway this many times in so long. Check out this book. So relatable and well written. I'm a new, huge fan.

[Cash_kaiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caca Dolce is both extremely funny and sad. Martin's essays expose both the weird comedy and the awkwardness of growing up as a real weirdo in the 90s/00s of Northern California. If you've ever had estranged family relations, bad college era choices, and encounters with aliens as a pre-teen this is the vibe Caca Dolce is running on! It was a lot of fun to read and a really cool stylistic departure from Chelsea's usual work. Great stuff!

[Lindsay Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite kind of book because it is SO fun to read while also making me feel smarter and more human for having read it.

[Emily]

SO funny. I don't remember who recommended this to me or why it's been on my Goodreads TBR for five years, but I'm so glad I finally read it.

[David Catney · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like this book.

[Katie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
In this collection of essays, Chelsea Martin discusses her life growing up with not a lot of money and a mother and stepfather who had a tumultuous relationship. She also talks about feeling alone, her awkwardness around boys, and finding out she has Tourette's Syndrome. And when her long absent father reenters the picture, she discovers the father/daughter relationship is going to be on his terms only.

While this book has been described as funny, I found it to be much more heartbreaking than anything else. I couldn't help but feel sad for Chelsea and the environment she grew up in. I thought the strongest parts of the book were when she talked about her father and putting herself through art school.

I received a free copy of this book from Soft Skull but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinions.

[Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious, profound, and so moving. This is one of the best memoirs I've ever read. I quote it quite a bit to friends of mine, too: “I’ve come to think of all of my past selves as if they are my daughters. I want to stand up for them, to make sure that even when they were being very bad they were still loved and understood, even if only by their future self.” Oof, I needed to read that, to feel that, to stand up for my past selves—mistaken, vulnerable, hurting—in this way. Thank you, Chelsea Martin!

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duster, grey areas

[Karen Murnane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I'm too old but this book was just crude and gross and I never finished. Was a freebie.

[Riley Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading these essays was like being young and anxious and sad and weird all over again, but with someone to laugh about it with. Chelsea Martin's writing always feels like she is telling you something that you're not supposed to repeat to anyone else . . . like she's telling you a secret because you're the only one she trusts. I found myself talking to this book as I read it, saying "omg, same!" and "dude, that sucks, i'm sorry to hear that," because there is so much raw honesty here that I felt like I was listening to a close friend.

More than anything, CACA DOLCE is a very human book in a way that many essay collections aren't, because it's so sincere. Even when she is using humor to explain the feeling of something, the truth is there and on display for everyone to see. Chelsea never casts herself as the coolest or smartest person in her story, and because of that I think she's probably one of the coolest and smartest nonfiction writers I have ever read.

[Delia Rainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

a beloved book. i laughed so hard and felt so much emotional connection and understanding. there's a lot of bravery for choosing to write about some of these topics, such as going through the terrible manipulative situation with the estranged dad, describing her experience with tourrette's, and also being attracted to the chuckie doll at 6 years old. all of this pays off. chelsea is at once a likable and and unlikable person through and through, and aren't we all. it was so real to me to read her thought process, going back and forth between many outcomes of life, wondering why others are behaving certain ways and then wondering the same about herself. it's very self reflective and honest ~ this is inspiring and refreshing, makes me doubt the amount of self-criticism found in other books of essays i've read recently. i would've loved to show the art school essay to my students when i used to teach at arts college. i finished reading this book in the doctor's office waiting room while my bf got a bump checked out on his face yesterday. i just had to read it everywhere i went. <333

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked but didn't love this collection of essays that was something like a memoir in loosely themed chapters. Martin takes us from her earliest experiences with sex (and poop) to a more-or-less stable relationship in her adult life, with stops along with way for a lot of drinking and some drugs, some living with poverty, chasing boys, and making art. She's funny and self-aware and vulnerable, and I think I just wanted this to be a different kind of book than it is, something more topical and less biographical.

I will say that there were many scenes of Martin in peril here, where she drinks too much and hangs around older men, often shirtless, who you keep thinking will sexually assault her. It does ultimately happen, in a way, and it's sad and scary.

[KF · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read a piece here and there by Chelsea Martin over the past year or so and was pleasantly surprised to find a whole new collection of essays were published under my nose. I really appreciate the style of the essays--they're sort of self-deprecating with a very dry sense of humor, but rather introspective, not overly saccharine or sentimental but with a very palpable emotional center. I was especially surprised by the last piece in the collection, it really brought the book home. The book as a whole gave me a lot of writing inspiration and I always appreciate that. Recommend!

[Katie Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely devoured this - Chelsea Martin has led an interesting life and I needed to know ALL the details. However, this didn't fit my tastes as an essay collection reader. This read more like... not a memoir, but just your friend telling you what has happened in her life, listing all the details of what happened, without much reflection. So definitely interesting, and I would really like to read Martin's other works, but this lacked the deeper introspection I have come to expect in a collection like this.

[Dyllen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read one of the essays from the early chapters of this book in my nonfiction class in college – and Chelsea’s writing and her blunt, naturally humorous, self-aware style are what continues to inspire me to write my own stuff today. I am enamored by her talent and resilience. The earlier stories in the book are so fun and funny. It gets a lot more sad and heavy as it progresses and most “characters” are unlikable. But it’s life and it’s real. I recognize how tough this would be to recount all this. I really admire her for creating this work.

[Margaret Starry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chelsea Martin’s writing is the voice of the down to earth, insightful inner feminist so many women of our generation wish they could let loose. Her stories are candid and honest without the overly ironic tone that permeates this genre too often. Reading this book is like sitting down with a friend and hearing all their good stories for the first time, a hang out you don’t want to end. If you’re considering a modern memoir read don’t leave this off your list.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book I found refreshing to not relate to. I found it interesting to live an entirely different life navigating some of the same issues I was going through in wildly different ways. It was scary at times, with the constant threat of rape following her, and bad relationships with her family. It made me think about how lucky I am I was supported and taken care of though my most vulnerable moments.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kicking myself for not writing more but each of these are a treat. The essay that stands out is the one about her father reconnecting with her after being estranged for so long. There’s the line at the end of the essay when he tells her he loves her and she said says about saying it back to him that she “never had to say it to someone she didn’t love before and had no other answer”. I could feel a younger version of myself reading that line and having it resinate. Great stuff!

[Dave Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great memoir about growing up poor and creative and how those things are at odds, and what it means to pay for an education you can't afford, and a messy family life, and the how romance makes people behave shittily when they should be at their best. If you want to grow up and be a better version of yourself, brace yourself for humiliation. I learned that from reading this. Great book.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good stuff! I think the last couple essays maybe jump a little far from the tempo established in the first 2/3 of the collection, which focuses on childhood and adolescence. I would have actually loved if there were two books here, the first focusing on childhood and the second expanding on the young adulthood stuff after moving away from her family.

[Sharon Wishnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This provocative book of personal essays gives readers a look at the other side of the tracks. Chelsea Martin opens a vein on her life, and in the process, exposes a culture, community, and lifestyle that is raw, honesty, and at times funny. I cheered for her throughout, wanting her to land on her feet and tell everyone to get out of her way.