Book Review: “People I Want to Punch in the Throat” by Jen Mann

“I feel that by saying ‘excuse me’, I’m giving them a chance to realize they’re being an asshole, and they can change their attitude for the second attempt.” – Jen Mann

A few weeks ago I was trying to gain inspiration for a DIY project for one of my courses at school. While rummaging through some very curious websites I came across a peculiar blog called People I Want to Punch in the Throat. I’m an absolute sucker for sarcasm and frankness and became instantly addicted to the blog. For anyone who hasn’t visited Jen Mann’s blog before it is filled with witty, extraordinarily funny and, most of the time, obscene posts about the many events that take place in a suburban mother’s life and her reactions to it.

It’s really surprising that I read this blog so fervently in the beginning since I’ve always had a stereotypical view of a housewife. I always figured that a housewife was exactly as the movies displayed them to be; a Betty Draper kind of woman. The kind of woman whose day is mostly comprised of picking the kids up from soccer practice, planning playdates with fellow housewives and their children and happily doing tireless chores around the house. While Jen Mann’s days are somewhat like this, she seems to dominate and document them in this quirky fashion that has me in stitches. I’ve become such a fan of her work that I actually subscribed to her blog. While this might seem like a small feat for the average internet user, I am very particular when it comes to signing up for anything. The last time I signed up blindly for things, my e-mail got spammed with all manner of questionable content: there were e-mails from an Asian company trying to sell me plastic, a French company trying to convince me that the pills they were selling were the most effective weight loss product on the market, and another dozen e-mails about genital enhancement products.

Anyway, after reading Jen’s blog for a good while, I decided that I’d give her book, which is the same title as her blog, a read. I loved every minute of it. It felt like I was reading someone’s diary. It felt as if a friend was relating a story to me. It felt as if the author was just being real and what you see is what you get. My favourite part has got to be when she’s describing what a normal garage sale at her house and in her neighbourhood is like and the different types of people that the sale attracts. The story about the women with the “Fifty Dollar Bill Excuse” was really humorous. There’s also the mini conversations that Jen envisions would take place between herself and another mother that had me giggling for days. The runner-up for favourite part would have to be the part where Jen’s son is being bullied and refuses to tell an adult because the child bullying him says that “snitches get stitches”. It’s so adorable and cute that I can actually imagine his facial expression as he’s saying it.

However, there’s only one thing that got me absolutely frustrated about this book: there are no follow-up stories. I loved reading about Jen’s rise to PTO presidency and would’ve loved to read more about how she made the lives of the “room moms” complicated.

Still, I understand that the book is really just blog posts that Jen Mann has put together and, with or without the follow-up stories, it was a really good read.

Rating: 9/10

Book Info:

Publisher:  Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine (September 9, 2014)

Length: 208 pages

Source: ARC

Genre: Non-Fiction

Completed: January 2015