“Yes Please” by Amy Poehler – Inside the Mind of a Comedian

Amy Poehler is a name that generally evokes smiles on people's faces, belonging to a person who has truly made her mark in the acting community, bringing a special kind of comedy to the screen, the kind that is memorable in its uniqueness.

Needless to say, she has done a lot of work before really bursting through into the biggest of leagues with her performance on Parks and Recreation... as a matter of fact, she has had a pretty interesting and fulfilling career as a comedian.

And so, it shouldn't really surprise people that she decided to write a book, one that is autobiographical in its nature, but isn't a recounting of her life. Rather, it is her attempt to bring to you the workings of her mind and basically make you laugh in any way possible.

In this book you are going to find a lot of information about Poehler's life, from her childhood and school years, through her young adulthood working as a comedian and bouncing around in high-class circles, to where she is at the moment, what some would perhaps call the pinnacle of her career (barring future developments of course).

There are poems, haikus, short anecdotes, long anecdotes, even longer anecdotes, short stories (both fictional and semi-fictional), and basically insight into the exclusive world of show business.

To start off this review, as a piece of literature Yes Please aims to do one thing before others: to make us laugh. It is meant to be a work of comedy and taken as such, and I have to say that if you are into the more ridiculous kind of comedy, one that uses sarcasm and exaggerations proficiently, then you are definitely going to find a lot to laugh about in here.

If there is one thing Poehler excels at it's one-liners, as I have to say they claimed the large bulk of my laughs while reading this; she simply has an uncanny ability to surprise you when you least expect it with thoughts you probably wouldn't have reached yourself.

As far as the writing itself goes, it gets a bit messy at times in terms of structure, which in my opinion hampers the flow. It kind of feels all over the place in some parts, perhaps mimicking the author's mind, but nevertheless making the enjoyment of it all a more difficult affair than needs to be.

However, Poehler's technical proficiency more than makes up for that; the words are strung together in a way that simply makes them fly, always feeling jovial and full of energy.

There is a downside to it all though, and it is what I see as filler content. Some of the book is dedicated to the boring antics and habits of various other celebrities, and at some point Poehler simply copy-pastes the script from Parks and Recreation, which regardless of the intentions just feels a bit lazy, especially when looking at the amount of effort put into the rest of the book.

However, these problems are nothing too big and can definitely be overcome, especially if you're a dedicated Poehler fan.

All things considered, Yes Please is a rather welcome injection into the world of literature, bringing some light and much-needed humor into a somber world, and though it certainly has its flaws, in the end it will do exactly what it set out to, and what you expect from it: it will make you laugh.

I recommend it to those in search of some good relaxing comedy, or to learn more about Amy Poehler herself.

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Amy Poehler Amy Poehler is an American comedian, actress, director, producer, writer and voice artist. She has been nominated for the Emmy Award over fifteen times and won a golden globe for her widely-beloved portrayal of Leslie Knope on the award-winning sitcom Parks and Recreation. More recently she took to writing, penning her first book Yes Please in 2014.