Summary
This is RuPaul’s memoir of growing up Black, poor, and queer, trying to make it into the entertainment business.
Thoughts
I had such high hopes for this book but unfortunately, it fell short.
I’ve read many celebrity memoirs, and this one did not hit the mark. I felt it was insanely obvious that RuPaul had a ghostwriter for this book. I felt it didn’t capture RuPaul’s energy, sass, and humour that we all come to love. Not only that, the memoir was very dry and slow. There were no juicy bits and pieces to be had – the most interesting fact I found out about Ru was that he’s a high school dropout.
I’m surprised that there were no mentions of some of his most successful ventures such as his Drag Race, or some wild stories of him and his best friend, Michelle Visage, partying in the 80s/90s. I think RuPaul wanted to be an open book but ended up glossing over anything personal and went straight to the ups and downs of his early entertainment career.
Life was just one big fucking joke. Anyone who was taking it seriously was missing the point.
RuPaul, The House of Hidden Meanings
Rating & Recommendation
I rate this book a 1 out of 5. There are probably hundreds of other celebrity memoirs to read than this one, unfortunately.
Check out The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul on Goodreads or Amazon Canada.
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Rating scale:
1 out of 5 = Hated it!
2 out of 5 = Didn’t like it.
3 out of 5 = It was okay.
4 out of 5 = It was great!
5 out of 5 = Absolutely loved it!
Oh! I would skip this book, doesn’t seem that promising. Have a great day!
Rampdiary
Unfortunately, a let down for sure!
It’s a shame that this book didn’t hit the mark for you x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Right?! I had such high hopes for this book since I adore RuPaul 🙁
I liked how short and to the point your review was. I agree with you that when I pick up a memoir, I expect to get the juicy, behind-the-scenes stories—those little details you wouldn’t normally hear in an interview. And I totally believe many celebrities use ghostwriters. It feels like every celebrity has a book out now, and I highly doubt they’re all actual writers.
Thank you, Ray! Even when I was writing this review, I didn’t know what else to say since it was a truly disappointing book.
What a shame that this memoir fell so flat, which does seem a particular shame as RuPaul is so absolutely wonderful. Thanks for the honest review!
No problem, thank you for checking it out! I agree – it’s such a shame it fell flat coming from RuPaul.
I was intrigued by RuPaul’s memoir, but now I’ll pass on reading it! It’s a shame that it’s so dry and uninteresting.
It’s always disappointing when a memoir doesn’t live up to expectations, especially when the author is very vibrant!