It's My F---ing Birthday: A Novel [Paperback]

Merrill Markoe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 24, 2002

It’s My F---ing Birthday unfolds in seven state-of-my-life addresses a hapless high school art teacher writes to herself on consecutive birthdays. Through outrageously funny years of needling parents, self-absorbed boy-friends, riots, O.J., and Monica, she navigates a circuitous (and ultimately successful) route to happiness in a world where everything seems to conspire to the contrary.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

On the first page of It's My F---ing Birthday, the unnamed narrator initiates a new tradition: every year she will write "a personal state of the union to help me chart my profits and losses." We get these annual reports in chapters, from "Thirty-Six" to the concluding "Forty mmmmppphhh." In between lie several years of angst-ridden dating and parental torment in the already hallowed tradition of Bridget Jones's Diary. There are two differences: author Merrill Markoe, who spent many years writing for David Letterman (and collecting many Emmy awards), has a considerably darker comic vision than Helen Fielding. And she also resists the temptation to pair her narrator off in the service of a happy ending. In fact, this is one woman who finds out she's happier on her own: "One great thing I have noticed about living all by myself: All of my annoying habits seem to have disappeared." --Claire Dederer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Who can say, with a straight face, that every birthday they've ever experienced has been the perfect occasion, with every wish granted and all dreams fulfilled? Certainly not Markoe's nameless single Anywoman, who begins journaling her yearly observations with hilarious dedication when her ex, Carl, surprises her with flowers on her 36th birthday and her parents' traditional celebratory dinner turns out to be yet again an experiment in terror. In this veteran comedy writer's first novel, seven special birthdays are analyzed with increasing insight and joie de vivre guaranteed to make this the perfect gift for all women who face birthdays with grim determination, pepper spray and sharp fingernail files. Each year, Markoe's protagonist, an L.A. art teacher, carefully writes down "What I Learned This Year That I Want to Remember" and charts her attempts to stay out of "the Hole," the place where hapless "smart, fun, attractive women in their late 30s and upward" fall into "whining, moaning, hoping for escape," keeping the reader nodding in wry agreement. Witty, biting observations include: from her 36th birthday, "No more voluntary participation in bad sex"; from her 37th, "No more shopping with Mom"; from her 38th, "Don't make a big deal out of the fact that there were no guys this year"; from her 39th, "When you have never loved at all, at least you have enough attention span left to get some reading done" and "Never continue to interact with someone who cannot define the word `soon.' " Markoe teaches the joy of laughing through pain and bubbling through toil and trouble. (Feb. 19)Forecast: As a multiple Emmy winner and the original head writer for David Letterman, the author should have no trouble promoting her book on the talk-show circuit or her five-city author tour.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: Villard (December 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812967240
• ISBN-13: 978-0812967241
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #448,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Merrill Markoe graduated from UC Berkeley with a masters degree in art, then went on to use her degree in the most pragmatic way possible by becoming a writer of comedy for assorted venues, including television, movies and magazines,(when there still were magazines.) Along the way she won five Emmys for Late Night with David Letterman and a Writer's Guild Award for HBO's Not Necessarily the News.These days she is STILL writing books and making short films. To learn more than you probably need to know about her, visit Merrillmarkoe.com. And when I say "her", I mean "me." As far as I can tell, I'm the only one writing this.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Semi-melancholy but amusing tale of birthdays gone by, June 11, 2002

By 

Cville Dad (Catonsville, MD United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: It's My F---ing Birthday (Hardcover)

This book should NOT be compared to Bridget Jones' Diary-that's an entirely different animal. Yes, it is about a single woman, but this book does not have the zippy, Brit hipness about it found in Helen Fielding's book. What it does have is one of the most hysterical descriptions of bad sex I have ever read. "It's My F---king Birthday" explores exasperating relationships with parents, getting older and staying single, and finding self-contentment.

Some reviewers criticize Markoe's writing as lazy, and while I get the distinct impression that this short novel wasn't something she toiled over, that doesn't mean you should enjoy it any less. It is not a deep read, and if that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere. But if you're looking for something funny and poignant, check it out.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rings very true., July 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: It's My F---ing Birthday (Hardcover)

I was under the impression this book was going to be hilarious, but I actually found it to be quite dark and depressing. That's because to me, the still-single 30-something (and then 40-something) character with the hyper-critical, absolutely unhelpful parents is all too familiar to me. The author really set down a realistic picture of a woman's single life. I especially liked the "dumb girl" inside the lead character, that little voice that keeps egging on an otherwise smart and successful woman to find a man, to date men she's not attracted to, to make the best of a bad relationship because of this idea that we're all supposed to be with someone - anyone. Because maybe the "illusion of progress is as good as progress" (a concept introduced by the character's mother). And the birthdays - it was a relief to find an author who understands the strength a person needs to keep smiling when she's in her 30s and spending her birthdays with two clueless parents who wonder why you're not married while they're sitting there arguing and being completely loveless. Yikes. This book gave me the chills! Single women - it's not that funny, but that's the beauty of it.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My F---ing Birthday, February 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: It's My F---ing Birthday (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed this book. I think I liked it best, because, unlike Bridget Jones, the humor and instances were culturally specific to Americans, so you had a deeper connection with the author's experiences. I also liked the fact that the book focused on an older woman's relationship with her parent's and her continuous attempts to preserve a positiove relationship. Also, unlike most "thirty something" books, the author had a real job and was not in a glamerous profession (ie: magazine editor, TV show host, public relations, ect..) she's an art teacher.

The only draw back is that the book can get very slow at times, so you probably won't finish it in a day or two. The reader will find the most enjoyment by reading a few pages every night.
Overall, I would give it a thumbs up and would say it is worth buying in hard cover.