Staff Pick
This book marks Chelsea's transition from fiction 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. Recommended By Kevin S., Powells.com
What a gem! Reading this collection feels like finding a friend who fully accepts all of your weirdness and insanity, free of judgement. Martin is a writer you won't want to miss! Recommended By Haley B., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
"The preeminent chronicler of internet-age malaise." --Lena Dunham
"Martin's honest writing exists above the confines of fear and social norms . . . Her writing is sweaty, uncomfortable, and enchanting . . . She taps into the consciousness of her past selves with precision and care, respecting the integrity and desires of those younger women. A sure hit for fans of Sara Benincasa's Agorafabulous and Lena Dunham's Not That Kind of Girl." --Booklist (starred review)
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.
Synopsis
"For anyone who has ever felt weird or poor or misunderstood or just . . . weird, well, this is the book for you. Martin chronicles her own bizarre upbringing in such a way that the strangeness of it all manages to still feel universal. She recounts everything from her attempt to manifest an alien invasion (she was just 11; what 11-year-old doesn't want E.T. to visit?) to the fights she had with her family, to what it was like to be diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome as an adolescent. It's a wild ride of a memoir, and a true glimpse into the mind of an artist as she's figuring out what life is all about." --Kristin Iversen, Nylon
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.
Synopsis
An "enchanting" memoir of an artist in search of herself: "A sure hit for fans of Sara Benincasa's Agorafabulous and Lena Dunham's Not That Kind of Girl" (Booklist, starred review).
Caca Dolce is the "funny, candid, and bracingly self-aware" story of Chelsea Martin's coming of age as an artist (The Rumpus). We're with the author of cult novels Mickey and Even Though I Don't Miss You 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.
A book about relationships, class, art, sex, money, family, and growing up weird and poor in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Casa Dolce is "a wild ride of a memoir, and a true glimpse into the mind of an artist as she's figuring out what life is all about" (Kristin Iversen, Nylon).