Alexa Chung: IT – Book review
Alexa Chung: IT – Anna’s reading challenge
In the previous articles I dived into the serious topics the novels touched upon: spirituality, religion and migration, just to mention some. This was possible because even if the books were humorous and easy-to read, they were tiptoeing on substantial topics. (The Castle is an obvious exception: that novel is depth itself and grabs you to drown in it.) Well, with spring approaching its end and with summer lightly floating in simultaneously, I brought you something more easily digestible: Alexa Chung’s “It” – a refreshing, short, unusual autobiography of the world-famous model.
In case you have not heard of her, yet: Chung is a 34 year-old model who charmed designers everywhere with her lay-down attitude and her extraordinary looks. Her book is divided into many one to three pages long sections which are often accompanied by photos or drawings of Alexa herself. The book’s twist on standard autobiographies is its randomness: it is not linear and seemingly has no structure principle. I found, as I was reading it, more to be like a small art-project which people are interested in not because of its one-of-a-kindness but because it contains the soul of someone famous which, to be honest, everyone is eager to peek into.
“Social networking is an ironic name for something that has little to do with connecting us with others and everything to do with self-promotion.”
― Alexa Chung, It
The sections’ topics are very diverse, the book can move from Spice Girls to meeting Anne Wintour in nearly one page. The only thing common in the themes is Alexa. “It” without an exception discusses personal memories and experience which is both the advantage and the disadvantage of the book. However, as she does not take the book too seriously either, that is as far as my criticism can go. If the reader is ready to plunge into the world of the model without expectations, the journey will be an entertaining one.
“Where will this all end up? Will we completely lose our ability to be private, respectful, subtle? Will romance die? Often I long for a simpler time when break ups weren’t made a trillion times worse by photo tagging, and rather than spelling it out for people you could be irritated by something and not feel as though you had to voice your gripe with convenient hashtags such as #dogaccidents, #cake and #snow in case it becomes a trending topic.”
― Alexa Chung, It
Just to give you an idea of what to expect: there are a couple of tips from the It-woman on, for example, how to take a good selfie, how to get the careless look (with lots of work actually!) and on how to decide what to put on for the day. Then, there are more personal and deeper chapters, like the sections elaborating on her heartbreak or the section on her mother. Personally, my favourite sections are tales of her youth which evolve around the crazy 90’s like the above mentioned part of Spice Girl. In this she tells about her first encounter with GIRL POWER and as a former Spice Girls fan, this evoked fond memories that took me back to my own childhood when I was mad about the band and really-really wanted those Buffalo boots the girls were rocking so much.
“Every time you post a picture of yourself to Instagram looking fake happy a fairy dies.”
― Alexa Chung, It
And that is what makes It likeable: the fact that it is relatable; women reading it everywhere around the world can see that an IT-model lives her everyday life just as every other person does – sometimes with suffering, often with silliness but always in her own way.
