Oh Miriam!

 Book 75 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from October 7 - 21

Oh Miriam! by Miriam Margolyes

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

Oh Miriam! has been a constant refrain in my life, said in all kinds of tones - laughs, surprised gasps and orgasmic sighs (I'm hoping for all of those from you as you read on!) - that it had to be the title of this book. And with a cast list that stretches from Churchill to DiCaprio, Dahl to Dietrich, Princess Margaret to Maggie Smith, I've so much more to tell you and so much more to say.

My chapters range from 'How to Stay Married' to 'Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down'. Discover how to break the thickest conversational ice; why swearing is actually good for you (though not on the Today programme); the unexpected things I learned at school and what my Spice Girl name would be. Not to mention my Tale of the Unexpected and my very own Vagina Monologue.

Buckle up and join me on another unforgettable adventure, but this time through my heart and head...

My Opinion

2 stars

This is clearly her voice and written honestly.  I thought I only knew her from 'outrageous' clips on talk shoes but it turns out I've seen multiple movies she's been in.

She writes in an entertaining way but enough of the stories elicited a cringe rather than a laugh from me that I bumped it down to 2 stars.  More than one story of flashing her tits at unsuspecting people as a "joke/prank/icebreaker" and more than one story of farting in closed spaces (yet so incredibly angry when someone did it back at her) turned my impression from "kooky old lady" to "bit of a menace".  She knows "when's the first time you had anal sex?" is an opening question that will make people squirm and does it anyway; she thinks it's ok because she thinks it's cutting through the small talk bullshit and fostering an interesting conversation but I think it's rude to deliberately make people uncomfortable, especially as she holds and shares strong opinions of others' rudeness/shortcomings.

All that being said, I probably would read her other autobiography, This Much Is True, if I came across it because her life is interesting but would also be prepared going in for the 'shock value' she enjoys creating.