Review: Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran

When Caitlin Moran sat down to choose her favourite pieces for her new book she realised that they all seemed to join up. Turns out, it’s the same old problems and the same old ass-hats.

Then she thought of the word ‘Moranifesto’, and she knew what she had to do…

This is Caitlin’s engaging and amusing rallying call for our times. Combining the best of her recent columns with lots of new writing unique to this book, Caitlin deals with topics as pressing and diverse as 1980s swearing, benefits, boarding schools, and why the internet is like a drunken toddler.

And whilst never afraid to address the big issues of the day – such as Benedict Cumberbatch and duffel coats – Caitlin also makes a passionate effort to understand our 21st century society and presents us with her ‘Moranifesto’ for making the world a better place.

The polite revolution starts here! Please.


Review: if you've been following the blog for a while, you'll know that I'm a massive fan of Caitlin Moran and her work. Now I wasn't so sure what Moranifesto was going to be like when I heard that this was her next project but her books are an auto-buy for me and so of course i had to get it! The book is split into topics and there are previously published columns on these topics as well as some articles she has written specifically for this book. This is a really good format I feel as it means you can pick this book up and put it down again after just reading an article or two. I ended up listening to this book on audiobook so I didn't really read it that way but it would be amazing if you are reading this on a commute because each section is short and so allows you to read in between legs of your journey.

Caitlin Moran's voice is as strong as ever in this latest book. She covers topics such as high heels and relationships, right down to rape and politics. If you've ever read anything by Moran before you'll know she tells it like it is and so if you're easily offended by straight talking, you should approach this one with caution. You know what each section or article is going to be about, however, before you read it and so if any of these are triggers, you can simply breeze last them. Equally, if you really don't fancy the section on women's clothing, you can skip it and come back to it later,

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was Caitlin's introduction before each section and each article. She had some witty comments of an anecdote that out each article into context and so you felt really like she was talking to you and only you the entire time, like the whole book was taking place through your conversation (I would LOVE to have a conversation with this lady I can tell you!) this and the structure meant that it was a fairly quick read. I felt educated on some of the areas I knew less about and learned some interesting statistics that I think had been kept hidden from me for quite a while. The section on sex workers was a particular eye opener. I would really recommend the audiobook of this one, although if you are planning on reading this over your morning/evening commute then perhaps a physical copy might be better suited. I enjoyed this book and it will sit happily with the rest of my Caitlin Moran collection and be bought for many friends as her previous books have been.