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Katlin Mckinney's Reviews > Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius
Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius
by
by
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with early access to this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
How do you write a biography of a truly mad genius who doesn’t want the public to know anything about her?
Well, Carrie Courogen has seemingly done the impossible. The greatest achievement of this book is that it’s a biography worthy of its subject.
Honesty and chaos are central to Elaine May’s life and work, and while this book searches relentlessly for the former, it veers wildly and charmingly into the latter in the most exciting, entertaining way. Miss May Does Not Exist meticulously tracks May’s movements from Chicago, to Los Angeles, back to Chicago, to New York, and is told in a casual, playful manner that makes the reader feel like they’re hearing the latest gossip from a friend. Along the way, Courogen shows great admiration and reverence for the woman who helped to revolutionize comedy, got bored, and then terrorized Hollywood studios, without ever deifying her.
This book strives to untangle the web of truths, half-truths, and lies that she has told to the public over the years, and then to weave it all back together into a tapestry that tells a narrative that any Elaine May fan will be unable to put down.
How do you write a biography of a truly mad genius who doesn’t want the public to know anything about her?
Well, Carrie Courogen has seemingly done the impossible. The greatest achievement of this book is that it’s a biography worthy of its subject.
Honesty and chaos are central to Elaine May’s life and work, and while this book searches relentlessly for the former, it veers wildly and charmingly into the latter in the most exciting, entertaining way. Miss May Does Not Exist meticulously tracks May’s movements from Chicago, to Los Angeles, back to Chicago, to New York, and is told in a casual, playful manner that makes the reader feel like they’re hearing the latest gossip from a friend. Along the way, Courogen shows great admiration and reverence for the woman who helped to revolutionize comedy, got bored, and then terrorized Hollywood studios, without ever deifying her.
This book strives to untangle the web of truths, half-truths, and lies that she has told to the public over the years, and then to weave it all back together into a tapestry that tells a narrative that any Elaine May fan will be unable to put down.
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