Is she writing to me???? (Dear Fatty - Dawn French)

Member Name: Claribella

Product:	Dear Fatty - Dawn French
Date:	23/03/09 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny and interesting.

Disadvantages: Might be too uneventful for some

I have been dying to read this book since it hit the shelves but it hasn't been until now that I have actually picked it up due to a busy family life. Although I find Dawn French very funny I have a few more reasons as to why I was desperate to read. Firstly my Aunty is one of Dawn's, Grandma's very good friends. They have grown up together and have been long standing friends for years and years. Ever since I can remember I have heard the 'Frenchies' mentioned by various members of my family.

Secondly, Dawn spent part of her childhood growing up on exactly the same estate that I grew up in. I knew I'd recognise areas that she talked about and certain landmarks that she had frolicked around in.

Thirdly, when I qualified as a Nursery Nurse at eighteen years old, I ended up getting a job in the Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation that her mum set up and was the boss of. When I went for the job I didn't know that her mother had links with the place, let alone owned it and before you think it, 'No I didn't get the job because it was all set up for me'. It was definitely meant to be and it wasn't until that I started sharing with my parents what the place was all about, did it come into light hat it was Roma's (Dawn's mum) place. I spent a few years there and built up my own opinion of Roma so was interested to hear a bit about her background and what her relationship with Dawn was like.

Finally, I did actually meet Dawn when she performed here in Plymouth. She was so lovely in person and by this time everyone knew we had family links so we had plenty to chat about. I was interested to hear about her life growing up.

The book has three sections of different photos of Dawn at different stages of her life with friends and family. I usually start a book by looking at all of the pictures. It wasn't until I started examining the pictures that I realized how pretty Dawn actually is. Some may want to disagree with me on this one but really, in some of her younger pictures she was so gorgeous. She had a really lovely figure, not too thin but not overly large like she is now. There is a big picture of her face on the front of her book which I had a close look at after looking at her childhood pictures and she really has a nice face. I felt really convicted at this point and it made me realize how shallow I am because I have always seen her as a dinky, big person who makes me laugh and that's as far as it goes. As I got into the book, She actually writes a whole chapter on this and it made me feel a lot worse about judging her for her looks. It's something that I must work on!!!

The book is written in the format of letters. Each chapter is a different letter to friends or family and there are even a few letters to some famous stars. She writes the letters and highlights things that she remembers about her childhood and life growing up. Some of her letters are written to 'Fatty' and we later learn that that's her 'pet' name for Jennifer Saunders.

The chapters aren't very long and I found them very easy to read. I normally start reading a book but when I go back to it, I've forgotten what I've read. It doesn't matters so much with this book and the chapters are pretty short so I would sometimes get a sneaky read whilst going to the loo or something.

The style in which she writes is funny and kept me interested. She definitely uses her humor and there are a lot of sarcastic write ups along with some really heartfelt moments. You can really feel the love and respect she has for a lot of people in her life.

To be honest I think this may be quite a boring book for some people because it's pretty uneventful. If you are looking for another abusive, hard childhood then don't pick up this book. Dawn did have some hard times especially when she turned 19 years old but over all this is a very light hearted read. Personally I think this made a nice change from all the other celebrity books out there.

I think I may have found it twice as interesting than the average reading because I knew exactly where she was talking about when she mentioned places like Ernesettle and Mutley Plain. I found myself getting very excited and making comments like 'No way' out loud. It's a good thing that I was in my own house and not on a bus!! People may have thought I was mental!

I know a lot of people have commented on how she didn't really go into detail about her struggles with trying to conceive but I didn't find this a problem at all. I think it's nice that she keeps some stuff to herself after all she is a person and although she is a celebrity she does like her privacy.

Over all I would suggest that you read this book. It's a nice break from all the doom and gloom that can be life these days. It's funny, refreshing and very interesting without being boring, overly sad and gloomy. I guarantee you will laugh (a lot) and cry and appreciate Dawn for who she really is as a person rather than a celebrity.

Summary: A really good read.