Name: Omar's review of The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
Item: The Last Black Unicorn
Rating: 5
Author: Omar

Tiffany Haddish

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “An inspiring story that manages to be painful, honest, shocking, bawdy and hilarious.” —The New York Times Book Review From stand-up comedian, actress, and breakout star of Girls Trip, Tiffany Haddish, comes The Last Black Unicorn, a sidesplitting, hysterical, edgy, and unflinching collection of (extremely) personal essays, as fearless as the author herself. Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles, Tiffany learned to survive by making people laugh. If she could do that, then her classmates would let her copy their homework, the other foster kids she lived with wouldn’t beat her up, and she might even get a boyfriend. Or at least she could make enough money—as the paid school mascot and in-demand Bar Mitzvah hype woman—to get her hair and nails done, so then she might get a boyfriend. None of that worked (and she’s still single), but it allowed Tiffany to imagine a place for herself where she could do something she loved for a living: comedy. Tiffany can’t avoid being funny—it’s just who she is, whether she’s plotting shocking, jaw-dropping revenge on an ex-boyfriend or learning how to handle her newfound fame despite still having a broke person’s mind-set. Finally poised to become a household name, she recounts with heart and humor how she came from nothing and nowhere to achieve her dreams by owning, sharing, and using her pain to heal others. By turns hilarious, filthy, and brutally honest, The Last Black Unicorn shows the world who Tiffany Haddish really is—humble, grateful, down-to-earth, and funny as hell. And now, she’s ready to inspire others through the power of laughter.

The Last Black Unicorn

Omar

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From stand-up comedian, actress, and breakout star of Girls Trip, Tiffany Haddish, comes The Last Black Unicorn, a sidesplitting, hysterical, edgy, and unflinching collection of (extremely) personal essays, as fearless as the author herself. Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles, Tiffany learned to survive by making people laugh. If she could do that, then her classmates would let her copy their homework, the other foster kids she lived with wouldn’t beat her up, and she might even get a boyfriend. Or at least she could make enough money—as the paid school mascot and in-demand Bar Mitzvah hype woman—to get her hair and nails done, so then she might get a boyfriend. None of that worked (and she’s still single), but it allowed Tiffany to imagine a place for herself where she could do something she loved for a living: comedy. Tiffany can’t avoid being funny—it’s just who she is, whether she’s plotting shocking, jaw-dropping revenge on an ex-boyfriend or learning how to handle her newfound fame despite still having a broke person’s mind-set. Finally poised to become a household name, she recounts with heart and humor how she came from nothing and nowhere to achieve her dreams by owning, sharing, and using her pain to heal others. By turns hilarious, filthy, and brutally honest, The Last Black Unicorn shows the world who Tiffany Haddish really is—humble, grateful, down-to-earth, and funny as hell. And now, she’s ready to inspire others through the power of laughter.

Hannah Yoon

I listened to the audiobook so it made it a bit better. She's a good storyteller. She shares a lot about her upbringing and her experiences, but it also felt rushed.

Ivy X

Listened to the audiobook for this—absolutely loved it. I feel like reading it myself would’ve hit different but listening to Tiffany read it made me feel like I was listening to a comedy special. It was funny, raw, and also very “her.” Albeit there are some parts where I was questioning if it was okay for her to do, such as the way she read Roscoe’s voice. But I think with her background, she’s someone who only knows how to speak her truth and utilize humor to paint images and feelings. 
It’s important for the reader to know where they stand on the matter but also be open to the idea of different lived experiences of the author (especially when it’s an autobiography)

This definitely going to make me listen to more audiobooks. Really enjoyed this.

Shereen Evans

I picked this up expecting to get some good laughs out of it and it did not disappoint. This book will definitely open your eyes to how its not fair to judge people before you know them and their background. Not only did she share a story that some people may not want to share because they don't want to know what other people would have done if they were in her situation but instead she wanted to share it so women can learn that you don't have to stay with someone if they are being treated terrible. And by the end of the book it was a happy ending to the beginning of a great life for her.

Lia Yuliana

Tiffany Haddish is probably one of the most famous female comedians in the industry of entertainment. I first encountered her in a few late night talk shows of her as a guest. Her personality is unique and she is un-apologetically herself. A unicorn in a male dominated industry. 
When I saw that the audiobook is available on Scribd and is narrated by her, I jumped on the opportunity to listen to her life's journey.

She shares stories from her childhood upbringing in California, the times when she has to take care of her siblings because of her mothers absence. Her step father "attempting" murder on her mother. Her overcoming hardship after hardship in her life. Her strong values as a woman in a male dominated industry helped her succeed without giving away a part of her to people trying to take advantage of her. She took the long way and it definitely paid off.
I probably heard her Groupon story more than once and it's still funny. AND the stories during her days being the hype woman in bar mitzvahs. Not to mention her involvement in a cult and escaping said cult by raging over bunk beds. Any reader that loves comedy will surely be entertained especially young girls working to make a name for themselves in comedy.

Her ability to tell stories like she is your best friend is highly commendable. Tiffany Haddish is like one of those friends that has the wildest stories to tell during reunions. You can never turn away a story from her. Why would you? Readers are in for a ride and be ready to commit. 
Expect to laugh once you pick this up and I recommend not listening to the audiobook at work because I could not for the life of me to stop snickering. I don't read a lot of biographies but The Last Black Unicorn is surely the on my list for one of the most entertaining autobiographies.

SHE READYYY!

Rachel Kwon

Hilarious and inspiring—I love her as a comedian and person, and this book really feels like her standup where's she's just talking to you in her own voice. Was a bit disappointed at the end to find that Tucker Max co-wrote (ghostwrote?) it.

Sophia Rabon

didn’t really finish the book, but let’s just say i basically did... it’s my goodreads, i make the rules! 

tat first tiffany was hilarious, but then a bit disturbing and honestly super offensive. basically, she goes into the whole chapter revolving around her coworker/boyfriend who has a disability. the way she spoke about him and voiced him was sickening. there were other disturbing and concerning things. but that chapter was the last straw for me. i wish it could’ve been better, but it wasn’t...

elif sinem

I'm almost tending to the 3.5 but... hmmm. Tiffany is very funny and this is a very easy read despite... some hard content. I wish she got into stuff deeper, but I guess her intent was to give you an idea, not a picture, if that makes sense.

Ivan Vega

Kind of sloppily written but honest and entertaining throughout.

Nicki

I had my issues with it but overall it’s a decent book. It definitely changed my perspective of Tiffany. It was easy to listen to. Felt like a comedy special that had a few hits and misses. Some stories were hilarious others made me uncomfortable. I definitely felt like she was raw and unfiltered about who she is and what she experienced.

Flavia Louise

Tiffany Haddish has led a very interesting but in parts also incredibly difficult life. In her memoir she uses her brilliant humor and storytelling ability to share it with the world. I really liked it.

Athena Eloy

Read this on audio and the performance was definitively 5 stars. Haddish is laugh out loud funny and so real throughout this memoir.

Kirby Drake

Surprisingly motivational story, while graphic and shocking, shares a story and lesson we can all relate to. I live her positivity and charisma, no matter how hard things got for her, she kept going, and stayed positive!

Kate Gravelle

I have trouble finding the humor in all of this. Instead I felt compassion and grief.

A few disclosures: 
* There book uses a lot of profanities
* It's shocking - there's a lot of stories that are simply too difficult to process. 
* It's mature - you probably don't want your children reading this. 

That said, this book was amazing. It's a mix of unbelievable stories, which are real, with a woman's drive to persevere and somehow make something of herself. Despite a terrible background. 

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author, and I'd strongly recommend it. It's heartfelt and it comes alive with the narration. That said, be prepared to pause the book in the frequent occasions in which you'll find yourself at a loss for words and simply yelling... "WHAT THE HECK?"

Michelle Xu

~3.5

I loved Tiffany in Keanu and Girl's Trip, and in April, my friends and I are actually going to see her live! I thought this book would be a good way to know her backstory a bit better before seeing her perform. I ended up listening to the audiobook which I was really really hyped about. The reason why I gave her memoir a 3.5 was because of the rough chunk of the book halfway through.

If I could, I'd rank it:
First half of book: 5 stars (childhood, adolescence, young adult, dating Titus, pimping)
The next quarter of the book: 2 stars (ex boyfriends, Roscoe, ex husband)
Last quarter of the book: 4 stars (Women in comedy, Girl's Trip + Jada and Will Smith, Conclusion)

The beginning was really great. Tiffany had to go through so much shit to be where she is today, and through it all she made people laugh. Overall, it was hilarious and empowering.

The middle part was the part I hated. Firstly, I was uncomfortable with how she described her sexual encounter with Roscoe, who was physically handicapped. While she did make disclaimers about how handicap people are people too and poked fun at herself, how she described the situation, how Roscoe looked, etc. was all just a bit much and seemed insensitive. The biggest problem I had with this section was the fact it came out that the whole chapters about abuse from her exhusband were apparently exaggerated and partially fabricated. She's being sued by him and she admitted some parts were embellished.... I was really upset by that because it feels like it's discrediting all the other real shit she wrote, and it discredits people who actually have been abused and discuss it. Her life story was tragic enough leading up to her marriage, I didn't understand why she needed to talk about physical abuse in a way that she later had to come out and admit didn't really happen.

The ending was also pretty good and ended on an empowering note. Some of the stories in this last part of her book was also discussed live during her promotions on late night shows! I also liked how in the audiobook, we had a few extra pieces of information that wasn't mentioned in the written book, such as her father's death and land in Africa, and the song she sang at the end.

While the middle part of the book that I disliked was definitely not a large part of the book, it greatly hindered how much better the book could have been.

Still excited to see Tiffany live!!!

** spoiler alert **
           I was listening to the audiobook, I had to stop after almost 40%. In the book her boyfriend cheats on her and records it and she gets ahold of the tape and makes a bunch of copies and sends it to his family. He shouldn't have done that but it wasn't just him in that video obviously, I mean the girl knew that he had a girlfriend and did it anyway but two wrongs dont make a right and Tiffany had no right in sharing that video around. From the other lower reviews I've read she continues to make messed up comments throughout the book so I have no desire to continue. I'm truly disgusted with her.

Mya Adams 

The book all together was great, she left nothing out of this book. It was funny, sad, and ridiculous, but at times it didn't feel real. I know I didn't live her life, I believe every story she told to be true I just think she exaggerated parts of the story to wow her audience. I feel like debut authors do this quite frequently, they believe that they have to come out swinging and never stop, which can make the story to overwhelming and hard to follow. The parts with her mother though those were some of the only parts that I believed to be completely true. Mental illness is no joke and can be as difficult and saddening as those parts portrayed. It can also come on without warning and can be helped by the right combination of medication and therapy. 

I read the physical book and the listened to the audio book. I used overdrive, overdrive is an app that sets you up with ebooks and audio books that are brought to you by your local library. I love using overdrive it brings me a good laugh or good cry for free from my favorite books. I love listening to memoirs in audio book form because 99% of the time the author reads it so it's like having Tiffany Haddish is in my living/kitchen room spilling her life story to me while I eat. I love to listen to audio books while I eat because you can stain a book page if your aren't holding one. 

I liked the writing style but I couldn't hold the book in my hands and listen to the audio because Tiffany Haddish had changed some of the dialogue from the way it was written. She spoke it like she wanted to, which was fun but it got on my nerves to read a line from the book but then have her say a line that was different or not even read that line. I did however like how the dialogue was structured. It would look like 
Producer: blah blah blah 
Tiffany: blah blah blah
It was easy to follow and read. My sister who has reading disabilities was able to keep track of who was speaking easier than most books she had read. Which I appreciated, and I thought that maybe she set it up this way because of her early years when she herself had a hard time reading.

Chelsea Breher

Borrowed the audiobook on a whim, and I'm glad I did. Tiffany Haddish tells it how it is, Haddish tells the story of her life up until today. She doesn't hide the hardships but also shows how she's grown from them. She's been through hell and back and yet still manages to kick ass and take names!

Sarah Williams

*long sigh*
I love Tiffany Haddish. I really do. But I couldn’t finish this and the chapter where she discusses her relationship with her coworker with a disability was just...a lot. It was problematic to say the least.
Very disappointing.

Destini Baylis Adams

I typically do not like reading biographies and non-fiction, but I am so glad that Tiffany Haddish invited me to experience her life thus far. Haddish details her horrific childhood encounters with foster care, mishaps with love, and her rise to fame.
 While many critics feel that the exposition isn't strong, I like that every word on the page sounds like the Tiffany Haddish I see performing and in interviews-herself. What I typically dislike about biographies is that most sound/read like a boring journalistic report. However, because Tiffany writes as she talks, it feels more genuine and intimate.
 The Last Black Unicorn also feels genuine because Haddish is upfront about her mistakes and misfortunes. She does not excuse them and is aware that some of her choices sound/are undeniably crazy now, but she explains her mindset at the time and we get to witness her personal self-reflection. 
I didn't start with the intention of writing a book about all this painful stuff. I just wanted to write a funny book. (275) 

 This line here is powerful because it reveals why all the painful backstory sections are so short and why the comedy-rising sections are so long. Haddish allows the world to know her pain more or less on her own terms and somehow reminds us (me) that being funny/humor keep her going. If I were to change/improve one thing though- it would be the chapter "Roscoe The Handicap Angel"- I just found it graphic and gross, but I respect Haddish for being honest about why she stopped seeing him though.
 That being stated, Haddish details the good, bad, and ugly of her life so far. I recommend this book to those who feel trapped, lost, or behind in life because Tiffany has written above all three and made something of herself. I look forward to witnessing the rest of her career.

Ana Couto

I was a fan of Tiffany Haddish ever since I watched the movie Girls Trip, but after reading her book, The Last Black Unicorn, I’ve become an even bigger fan. Although Haddish’s unique sense of humor is present on every page, she also reveals many of the hardships she’s faced in her life, such as being in foster care and dealing with domestic abuse. I loved every minute of this book. She’s not only a great writer, but a necessary voice in today’s world.

Adam

After hearing Tiffany on Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show, I knew I had to check out her book. That same matter-of-fact honest comedy comes through in her writing and her story. I laughed out loud more than once while listening to her sometimes awkward (and sometimes downright sad) stories told to humor.

Grace Gaswick

I clearly loved this book since I finished it in one day. The writing was unexpectedly charming and authentic.

Elsa Saks

the minute i finished, i restarted again. this is brilliantly honest and painful and funny, all at once. i got a new roadmap how to authentically share my own story. thank you Tiffany for sharing!

Omar &
The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish

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