Everybody wants to be Mindy Kaling’s best friend. From Los Angeles socialites to Dartmouth sorority girls and even the President of the United States, it seems that “The Mindy Project” show producer and lead actress is high on the list of “people I want to meet” for just about every American, and for good reason. Equal parts charming, funny and smart, Kaling offers a distinct brand of self-deprecating, mildly inappropriate humor that anyone can connect with and her new memoir Why Not Me? is a turbulent, addictive testament to that.
This should come as no surprise. Her first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), proved, above all else, that Kaling doesn’t write a typical celebrity memoir. Much like Lena Dunham in Not That Kind of Girl or Tina Fey in Bossypants, Kaling’s knack for the personal narrative leaps from the pages, wringing laughter from the stomachs of her readers. Amidst the frenzy of jokes and punchlines in Why Not Me? Kaling remains brutally honest and surprisingly sweet.
Where her first book explored her experiences as a socially awkward, Indian-American teenager and her transformation to sort-of-celebrity as writer and actor in “The Office,” Why Not Me? largely examines her clumsy yet glamorous life post-fame, complete with her brief stint as a sorority girl, the time she deeply offended a pop star with her moderate views on immunization and an almost-tryst with a presidential guard.
From afar, Kaling’s stories sound made-up. For other writers, the inclusion of high profile characters lining her book mixed with the gaudy backdrops of Hollywood would seem like a desperate grab for attention, but her honesty and carefree ability to accentuate her flaws pulls her writing from the depths of self-obsessed fantasy, making for some genuinely invigorating, hilarious stuff.
Now, that isn’t to say Kaling doesn’t allow any space for her imagination to run free in Why Not Me?. One of the highlights of the book is a collection of fictional emails in which an alternate-universe version of Kaling is a private school teacher living in New York City. Based around the idea of what she might look like without her big break with “The Office,” the chain of emails features an array of surprisingly detailed imaginary characters reacting to Teacher Mindy’s attempt to throw a wild, booze-ridden faculty party. Rather than glamorizing the life of New York private schools, Kaling paints a desperate picture of the popularity-obsessed tween-woman she might have become. Despite the story’s hilarity and attention to detail, Kaling isn’t fooling anyone. She’s far too witty and self-aware — it’s hard to imagine a life in which Kaling doesn’t rise to her offset version of stardom.
Why Not Me? isn’t groundbreaking, nor is it the next great memoir. She borrows a lot from her previous book and the pool of celebrity memoirs that came before it. At the very most, the book is a fun read, loaded with the kind of lighthearted humor and breezy readability perfect for a long car ride or a day off, and that’s kind of the point. Mindy Kaling doesn’t slack off when it comes to winning the hearts of her audiences, and Why Not Me? proves that yet again.