Martha Kimes' blog The Random Muse,
is probably one of the first blogs I read with any regularity when I
started reading blogs. Martha is a former lawyer, a mom, a blogger,
and quite possibly one of the funniest writers on the planet. When she
announced that she had gotten a book deal to write up a memoir about
her law school experiences, I couldn't wait to read it. Like the
neurotic blog-stalker that I am, I pre-ordered on Amazon. Such is the
extent of my devotion to Martha.
Unfortunately, even though I paid my own cash-money to purchase this
book (sorry free book providers who have been waiting months for me to
read and review your books), I wasn't able to squeeze it in between
working, end-of-school activities, my second stealth job, my non-profit
board membership, stalking various Democratic candidates, and writing for three blogs. Reading? I barely have time to read a stop sign these days.
I finally got the chance to read Ivy Briefs: True Tales of a Neurotic Law Student last
week, on a very long travel day to the midwest for a funeral. I was
not disappointed (in the book, I mean). It's a terrific book that
kept me entertained through through fourteen hours of tedious airplane
flights and weather-induced flight delays. It's a great book for
traveling, summer beach reading, or just when you need a good laugh and
a peek into another world. In other words, go buy this book.
There is a great deal about Martha's story that resonated with me.
She's from the midwesterner who finds herself thrust into an Ivy League
law school for a ride that is both thrilling and terrifying at times.
I went to Barnard as an undergrad, sight unseen, and her descriptions
of the Columbia campus brought back some great memories for me, and
reminded me of some of the initial insecurities that plagued me when I
arrived. It's easy to look back at your academic experiences with a
hazy nostalgia brought on by the passage of time, or to paint
something in an entirely negative light, but remembering the good and
the bad is much harder.
I went to one of the 15 or so schools in the "top ten law schools," one not as highly ranked as Columbia,
but just as competitive in the Chicago market. A good deal about my
law school experience I've selectively blocked out of my memory, but
all of it came flooding back while reading Ivy Briefs. Her
journey from Wisconsin barmaid to the swanky halls of a New York Lavish
Law Firm is hilarious, poignant at times, and oh-so-true.
In the book, Martha goes off to Columbia Law with Ivy League
aspirations and some trepidation. Fortunately, she has an
understanding new husband and a razor-sharp wit to get her through.
She talks about the fast friendships formed at orientation based on
little more than the fact that the people you bond with are not jerks,
the archetypal law students that you find in nearly every school, and
the seemingly sadistic professors who actually teach you a thing or
two. I laughed when I read her description of the "do-gooder," because
that was me, without the trust fund safety net. My first-year Socratic nemesis was a certain property professor,
who ironically now teaches at Columbia. I think I threw up before
several of his classes. Of course, the first job I got was as a
landlord-tenant lawyer for a non-profit legal services office in the
Bronx, where what I learned in his class actually came in handy.
Twenty-two years later, I'm still waiting for the payoff for all the
time I spent learning the difference between a springing and shifting
executory interests.
Martha describes the rituals of law school, from sitting through the
unwelcoming Dean's Welcome Speech through the ordeal of sitting through
the New York bar exam. Along the way, she endures the Socratic method,
Moot Court, writing for a law journal, a judicial clerkship, second
year job interviews, and a summer job at a big lawfirm. Her writing
style is fluid and conversational, and it's as if you're being told a
long, funny story by one of your best friends. It's an easy, fun read.
I think the part I enjoyed the most was a little passage near the
end where she takes an impromptu trip to Slovenia to deliver documents
for the law firm she works for as a summer associate. At first, she
doesn't even know where Slovenia is, and is terrified when she learns
it is part of the former Yugoslavia. She does her duty as courier,
then takes time to enjoy a little of the country:
I
walked along narrow pathways beside a meandering river, marveled at the
stately red-roofed homes and graceful willow trees flanking each side,
wandered down coblestoned streets past tiny green-awninged sidewalk
cafes...Yes, I am a long way from Wisconsin. Hell, I'm a long way
from New York. Shit, at this point, I feel like I'm a long way from
earth--I had no idea there was anyplace this beautiful on my home
planet.
I loved her description of how this one
roller-coaster ride of a trip changes her outlook on her life, her
career choices, and the world itself.
I recommend this book to anyone who went to law school, is in law
school, is thinking about going to law school, is glad they dropped out
of law school to go to film school, or anyone who just wants to read a
great story by an engaging, funny writer. I'm passing this one on to
my blog buddy HongLien of The Lotus Life. HongLien's thinking about going to law school.
I hope as soon as her book tour is over, Martha gets to work on "Lavish Law Firm Briefs: Tales of a Neurotic First Year Associate" or something like that. I promise I'll pre-order on Amazon, and maybe not wait for another funeral for an excuse to read it.
I recently joined the Parent Bloggers Network, a great network of sites that have banded together to review books and products of interest to parents. So far, I've either been too busy or not quite the right demographic for most of the products offered. When Julie and Kristen sent an e-mail asking for reviewers of Nina Garcia's new book, The Little Black Book of Style
