Cho's Cho -- either stay or go

By KARALEE MILLER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

I Have Chosen To Stay and Fight

by Margaret Cho

Riverhead Books, $23.95

GRADE: B

Comedian/social commentator Margaret Cho has plenty of opinions and just as many colorful ways of expressing them.

She's raw. Blunt. Passionate. Empathetic, yet no-holds-barred.

In her new book, I Have Chosen To Stay and Fight, Cho caustically comments on obvious subjects -- the war in Iraq and racism and homophobia. Her undisguised disgust with the current presidential administration resonates even more in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. If Cho hadn't finished this book before New Orleans went underwater, I Have Chosen To Stay and Fight would undoubtedly be 100 pages longer. FEMA alone would have inspired several chapters.

Mostly, she's writing for readers who don't need to be persuaded. Her unexpurgated views on sensitive issues will have liberals singing her praises. Those with red state tendencies will be disgusted and glad to explain why.

Which isn't such a bad thing. I Have Chosen To Stay and Fight will inspire readers to call up a friend and discuss what she has to say and how she said it. Cho's acidic humor, spiced with frequent profanity, will definitely put off some people. Could she make the same points without all the cursing? Probably. But that's not Cho's style. If it's yours, you probably won't last through the first chapter.

At certain moments, the provocative book becomes Cho's personal journal. She includes heartfelt letters written to comedian Richard Pryor and her late friend (and makeup artist to the stars) Kevyn Aucoin. And longtime fans hoping Cho will dish about her mother -- a staple of her stand-up comedy -- will not be disappointed.