I really like Girls. It’s very funny, despite all the problematic stuff in it, and the privileged vision it shows. After all, Dunham is a white educated woman, who has always lived in a world that supports her.

But I’m not here to talk about girls (that’s what my blog’s for). I’m going to talk about her book, which she published late last year. It’s very quick to read, which is something I can value in a book I read over the summer (southern hemisphere). Light and nice does the trick.

This collection of essays is fun, but it feels a bit inconsequential. I know. She poses herself as “the voice of our generation” (I’m a few years younger, but millenials are millenials). I didn’t really feel represented. She never got to actual insights that describe the problems most millenials go through. At certain points, she felt a little like a whiny teenage girl. What about fears of failure, regrets, unemployment? Not everyone has a family to fall back into. When she talked about relationships, her sex life, and how troubled she’s in those areas. She never got into the real issues behind her problems. She did sound even a little superficial.

If she actually wanted to be “a voice” for a generation, Dunham has to be able to see that most young people are not in her position. She’s able to be funny (which is something I value a lot, because I’m not funny). And she has a good eye to see the fun and weird moments of life. That’s something very good. But there’s more in life than being funny. She doesn’t seem to see the difference between her own “boy trouble” and the fact that young people all over the world being in debilitating debt for their entire lives. I mean, they are not in the same level. And she kind of plays with these two things as if they are even close. Because her problems are most like “I can’t date” than “I don’t have money to live”. I’m sorry, Lena, but you’re NOT our voice. Our generation is more complicated than that. Our generation’s issues are more than body problems and losing our virginities after twenty. Dunham does not represent us.

I didn’t hate the book, despite all what I’ve written here. Dunham is very honest about herself. She is able to talk about her body issues with a sincerity I’ve seen very little. That is wonderful. But she is self-centered and it shows a lot. She doesn’t seem to have a critical view on her own person. I agree that it is very hard, but it’s important if you want to write a book of personal essays. If you’re looking for our generation’s “voice”, I’d say you should look for it somewhere else. If you want to read some essays by a famous woman, go ahead. But keep in mind she’s not representative of any generation. And enjoy it! It’s a good light read.