Cry for Me, Argentina - by Tamara Yajia (Paperback)

About the Book

AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

"Tamara is one of the funniest people I know and her memoir is as hilarious as she is."-Cecily Strong

"Tamara's life story is fascinating." -Taika Waititi

A hilarious, moving memoir by Argentine-American comedian Tamara Yajia about growing up between two worlds.

Book Synopsis

"Fascinating." --Taika Waititi

Now in paperback, a hilarious, moving memoir by Argentine American comedian Tamara Yajia, "one of the funniest people I know" (Cecily Strong).

Tamara Yajia entered the world on a wave of absurdity, born into a family no one would call normal, from her grandfather, the salami-obsessed poppers salesman, to her mother, the OnlyFans model. Not only will her family try anything once, like moving to the United States and opening a food stand named Sexy Chicken; they'll try anything multiple times, like moving back to Argentina, then back to the United States.

The road doesn't get easier for a twelve-year-old Argentinian Jew trying to make it big in Orange County. But through grit, hustle, and a series of harebrained schemes like joining a girl band, and performing her own one-woman show, Cumming of Age, Tam has made it through, and she's ready to spill some shit--figuratively and literally.

Tamara Yajia's debut memoir is the messy, blazing story of a young Argentine trying to survive while holding on to her confidence, ambition, and sense of humor.

"Tamara Yajia's book is everything you could want from a memoir--the juiciest details, unforgettable characters, all sensually dancing on that delicate tightrope of hilarious and vulnerable. I wholeheartedly give it five out of five child stars." --Aparna Nancherla

Review Quotes

"Cry for Me, Argentina is the perfect summer read - you'll cry and laugh and crylaugh . . . The book makes the case that if you have a deliriously deranged family you might turn out the better for it. Tamara brims with life, and her superpower is that she's unflinchingly, maybe compulsively, real when talking about it, almost like she was born with her embarrassment gene in reverse." --LA Weekly

"Tamara Yajia is my favorite kind of storyteller - filthy and hilarious . . . This is a must-read for anyone with an interest in absurdity, juicy family drama and fantasizing about Backstreet Boy Nick Carter while listening to Sixpence None the Richer on a Discman. Relatable." --Nashville Scene

"Yajia is a talented writer with an arsenal of wild stories. She'll have you laughing and feeling perhaps a bit concerned about children like her. If you love memoirists like Jeannette Walls and Jennette McCurdy, who are both hilariously sanguine about their chaotic childhoods but are also unflinchingly honest, this one might be for you." --Shondaland

"Yajia writes as if she's unload-ing years of pain, grief, and hard knocks. With sharp, bit-ing prose, she recalls every detail. . . as if it hap-pened just yesterday." --Jewish Book Council

"Cry for Me, Argentina is full of many unflinching, hilarious images. . .Beneath the comedic anecdotes belies a sincere coming-of-age story, told with stream-of-consciousness ease, about growing up amid constant nostalgia and narcissistic entrepreneurial turmoil. Complicated parental figures, embraced eccentricities, and a scrappy handling of mental health issues commingle empathetically in Yajia's illustration of her family, making room for lighthearted antics and darker moments of desperation." --Austin Chronicle

"Yajia goes from near-fame to awkward pre-teen immigrant, wild teenager, and then finally achieves success in music and film-this time, behind the scenes. Crass, cringe, and absolutely hilarious." --Booklist

"Raw and raunchy, Yajia's account is appealingly unfiltered." --Publishers Weekly

"Tamara is one of the funniest people I know and her memoir, Cry for Me, Argentina, is as hilarious as she is. Her mother is my favorite character who also happens to be a real person." --Cecily Strong

"Tamara's life story is fascinating and magical." --Taika Waititi

"Tamara Yajia is the rare bird that awakens the dim light of my melancholy and sends me into joyous hysterical laughter all at once." --Flea, Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Simultaneously funny and heartfelt." --Mark Duplass

"The women in this book are maniacal, lurid, and wildly unhinged... my favorite!" --Chelsea Devantez

"The immigrant story we need right now-funny and foul and ill-fitted for the uplifting American dream formula." --Amanda Kramer

"You're going to go into this book thinking it will simply be the funniest book you've ever read. But you'll be wrong, because it will also be heartbreaking and so human and wondrous. There's no way to walk away from this book without being madly in love with Tamara Yajia." --Sophia Benoit

"Tamara Yajia's book is everything you could want from a memoir-the juiciest details, unforgettable characters, and sensually dancing on that delicate tightrope of hilarious and vulnerable. I wholeheartedly give it five out of five child stars." --Aparna Nancherla,

"No one has lived a life like Tamara Yajia. This memoir is absurd, vulnerable, and perverted in all the best ways." --Mia Mercado

"Remember that scene from Little Miss Sunshine where a young Abigail Breslin performs a striptease for a room full of horrified onlookers? That's a story straight out of Cry for Me, Argentina. Only, it was Tamara Yajia's real life and the crowd was full of rabbis. Her memoir is full of laugh-out-loud moments like that one as she recounts her attempts to become a child star, her moves back and forth between Argentina and California, as well as some heartfelt, difficult stories from her dysfunctional family life." --Anna Bauman, NPR "Fresh Air"