Watching Samantha Bee's Daily Show investigative interviews are a helpful, if not necessary, introduction to her audiobook, I Know I Am, But What Are You?. She starts the interviews with a serene expression and calm disinterest, and by degrees Bee becomes overly engaged in whatever cause her interviewee is committed to promoting. Her autobiographic writing follows the same pattern. Her stories start off establishing a relatable tone, but veer off into areas that are incongruent with Bee's sweet tone.
Samantha Bee's Reading Style
I Know I Am, But What Are You? is more fun to listen to than to read, because Samantha Bee knows exactly which words to emphasis for effect. What looks petty and even cruel in print sounds less so coming from Bee's gentle voice. In an essay on her frustrations with her family's lack of appreciation for her gift giving style, she announces that she is not buying gifts for her older family members, because, "if they haven't bought it themselves, they just don't believe that you got it at Sears."
Bee also has an usual combination of shocking ideas juxtaposed with more refined phrasing. The women in her family, she reveals may be predisposed to "sluttery, but the glorious truth is they mostly just love to marry sadists." Vulgarities mingle with eloquent phrasing, which is a familiar part of Bee's Daily Show style. For fans who would like to see live performances, Bee has several 2010 tour dates when she will perform readings of her essays.
Characterization of Family in I Know I Am, But What Are You?
Sometimes Bee mocks family relationships to an uncomfortable degree. She stresses her love for her family in her "Acknowledgments" section, but there are several times in the book that listeners wonder if her family had any awareness of how she would present them to the world. She goes beyond the genial zaniness that David Sedaris tells about his family; listening Bee is more like listening to the resentful humor of Shalom Auslander.
This is not an audiobook that can be listened to with kids in the backseat; there are distinctly adult themes and Bee litters curse words to the point of pollution. Her comedic background, sharpened by her work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, honing strengthens Samantha Bee's performance of absurd material. Unlike Wigfield, the work of another Daily Show alumnus, I Know I Am, But What Are You? is not an audiobook for a long drive. It is best listened to an essay at a time, because spacing out the stories softens the Bee's moments of overdone crudity.
I Know I Am But What Are You? Publication Information
I Know I Am, But What Are You? was released June 1, 2010 by Simon and Schuster Audio. It is available on CD and in downloadable formats, and the ISBN is 0743599896. It is just over six hours long.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
