A Girl Walks into a Bar: A Memoir
By Strawberry Saroyan

Reviewed by: Natalie Guevara

With a name like Strawberry, the average reader would expect one of two things: either a fun, hippie-esque chronicle about living life openly and vigorously, or a sassy Manhattanite's journal about her adventures as a career girl in the fast-paced city of New York, á la Sex and the City. What the reader actually gets is something in between.

With Girl Walks Into a Bar, Strawberry Saroyan (granddaughter of celebrated Depression-era writer William Saroyan) delivers a not-so-quite normal coming-of-age tale that celebrates the ascendance from womanhood into, well, womanhood -- currently, author Saroyan is only in her early thirties. Unlike most memoirs, Girl does not start off with a sappy rendition of the author's childhood and/or a traumatizing experience, even though a few anecdotes are sprinkled throughout, just for the sake of some character development. In fact, the book starts off exactly where it should; the year Saroyan turned twenty-five and realized she was still a virgin - in more ways than one, actually.

Saroyan then proceeds to tell us about her many ambitions, among them to become a successful member of NYC's media elite. Much like New York's hustle and bustle, the book shifts from our heroine's unhappy life as a run-of-the-mill writer for Condé Nast Traveler to her progression as a founder of Bleach, an independent women's magazine, to her eventually reaching journalistic glory with pieces published in Vogue and Salon.

Girl also delves into Saroyan's more personal life, complete with stories of how she was jaded by the media blitz in her late twenties and as a result moved from NYC to Los Angeles, her search for a suitable gentleman and her endless yearning to separate the professional from the personal, the fantasy from the reality. It would all be swell if Saroyan didn't come off as whiny and redundant. Readers feel as if she is hiding something from her audience, a big no-no as far as brutally honest memoirs are concerned. Also at fault is Saroyan's sketchy writing ability, which isn't nearly as compelling as she wants us to believe. At times, you're under the impression that you're listening to the mindless rambling of your best friend. Is that annoying, or what?

Qualms aside, Girl Walks Into a Bar really isn't that bad of a story, especially for older readers looking for some insight into the world of journalism. Just make sure you're not looking for another Carrie Bradshaw or Bridget Jones or you'll be sorely disappointed.

Past Headlining Articles:
August 2003: This land was made Nude & FREE
July 2003: Getting caught in the Fast Lane
June 2003: FCAT
May 2003: Legal Murder
April 2003: My Brother My Hero
March 2003: North Korea Crisis