America, you sexy bitch!

Tonight I am going to write a post that’s a little different. You see, about one and a half months ago, I received a very special package in the mail. In was sent all the way from America to tiny little Denmark and inside it was my very own copy of America, you sexy bitch, a collaborative work by Michael Ian Black and Meghan McCain. It was sent to me by The Well-Read Wife who is hosting a book club on her site. As per my vow when I signed up for this book, I will post a review of it here. If you want to read reviews written by other participants or just roam around Mandy’s wonderful place, click here.

Those of you who have been around for a while might know that I have been raised part-hippie, part-communist, and as such, it is basically in my genes to hate all things American, and especially all things American politics. And that is exactly why it seemed important to me to read this book.

“Three thousand miles, two strangers, one filthy RV. One fine summer, Meghan McCain and Michael Ian Black, total opposites and virtual strangers, went on a whirlwind, cross-country, political cannonball run across America. They hoped to find out what Americans are thinking about. After talking with strippers, senators, soldiers, anarchists, Mormons and Muslims, they ended up learning that the country they love is both more confused and more hilarious than they ever thought possible.”

That is the text on the back of my – by now rather ragged and filthy – copy of the book. It has been with me everywhere this summer, and as it is a very light read, divided into short passages, I was able to dive into it whenever I had a moment.

I was promised hilarity and politics – and I got both, in its own unequal way. Of course you can’t ask a politician’s daughter to upstage a comedian when it comes to jokes, just as you can’t ask the comedian to discuss politics with the same ease as the politician’s daughter, but it still seemed to me that the good miss McCain got a lot of opinions across, whereas Black was waddling around in the grass somewhere, telling his little anecdotes. He brought a smile to my lips time and again, no doubt, but having finished the book, I find that I have a clear view of what America means to Meghan McCain – and a clear view of what Meghan McCain means to Michael Ian Black.

Even so, I definitely took something valuable from this book. I think the most interesting thing is to get to know these people beyond their opinions. They made me furious time and time again – I come from a country where the mere thought of civilians with guns seems utterly absurd the entire firearms discussion in the book made me bristle. Wasn’t it exactly what my father told me? Giant, evil America, killing its people and denying them health care. Yes and no, I suppose. My opinion of American politics as a whole is unchanged, but I have been given the gift of nuances. One person does not make the cruel, crude America of my childhood. In truth, I suppose, none of them does.

I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in America – politics or not. It is an easy read, perfect for vacations – and it even has picture pages in the middle. I love picture pages in the middle!