Absurd . . . But Pure Laurie Notaro
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Change the names, create an absurd little scenario, and call it fiction. As a fan of Notaro's essay collections, this story, There's a (Slight) Change I Might Be Going to Hell, didn't surprise or disappoint. It doesn't stretch too far from her roots in writing first person vignettes about a funny, irreverent woman, however, the woman in this story happens to be named "Maye." Maye is clearly a Laurie alter ego, and it helped to have read her earlier collections to get a full picture of this likeable, humble creature.

Maye and her husband, Charlie, move from Phoenix, Arizona to Spaulding, Washington, because of her husband's new job. The plot centers on Maye's insatiable quest to make new friends. She is very unsuccessful--mistaking a coven of witches for a book group, infiltrating a meeting of vegetarians only to be busted eating meat later that night, and making a fool of herself at her first faculty gathering by getting stuck in her sweater and doing a striptease of sorts. She makes an enemy of the town matriarch, Rowena Spaulding, and her postman, who makes it necessary for her to take her dog, Mickey, to obedience training. Ultimately, Maye decides to win friends by attempting to win the annual "Miss Sewer Pipe" crown. She obtains a sponsor, the mysterious former Queen, Ruby Spicer, and as their friendship develops, the story grows more interesting. In spite of all the characters bantering back and forth in overly clever repartee and an annoying abundance of similes, I couldn't help but turn the pages just to see how the town pageant would unfold.

No great piece of literature, but fans of Laurie Notaro will love this book, and I applaud the author for giving "fiction" a crack, even though according to her acknowledgements, she seemed forced into it. Just keep writing Laurie. You make us laugh.

Following her academic husband to a new job in a small college town in Washington, Maye is confronted by the challenges of making new friends and, after a series of missteps, decides to enter the annual Sewer Pipe Queen pageant, a popular local tradition.

This book was entertaining, but a little "over the top". The situations that Maye found herself in funny, but they weren't always believable. The author used a lot of similes and metaphors which
slowed the pace somewhat. The resolution of the story was good and I didn't see it coming, but the very end of the book was a real let-down. I enjoyed it and had fun listening to it, but it's fairly forgettable.

I love Laurie Notaro, as I am an Idiot Girl myself, and her essays have always spoken to me. I have had her first novel on my "to read" book for a while now, but had to first finish re-reading all her other books at least five times. I was worried that perhaps her foray into fiction wouldn't be as funny, or maybe it would disappoint me so much that I wouldn't want to read her again.

Needless to say that these fears were happily debunked in reading the tale of Maye, a woman who has to relocate to a small Washington town after her husband, Charlie, gets a professor gig at a small college. Her depiction of trying to break into a small town made me chuckle, as I have moved around a lot, and have experienced similar, if somewhat less hyperbolic, situations. The scene where, after thinking she found a kindred soul in a bookstore manager, she has to comfort a drunken, premenstrual woman at a local eatery made me laugh. I had a similar experience, only mine involved a drunken bulimic.

Maye finally finds friendship in a woman who was ostracized by the townfolk, and hilarity ensues. I won't give the plot away but there's action, intrigue, and a vintage sweater that seems to have a life of its own.

I would have given this five stars, but it was a little predictable in that I have read so much about Laurie's life through her memoirs that I kind of got all the jokes and none of the descriptions of life in a progressive pacific northwest town really surprised me. I read this book in about a week (meaning that I would lock myself in the bathroom and read it to get away from my kids), it's a fun book that I'd recommend to others looking for something on the lighter side.

I remember enjoying Notaro's The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life and was looking forward to her first novel. It as fine. There were a few funny moments and it read tender and true. That said, on the whole, the writing and plot were significantly less well-crafted that I expected.

Writing was a bit wordy, with people speaking in a way only to be described as Gilmore Girls-esque. The scenarios were far-fetched, but the plot was rather cute. Not a stellar book, but a decent beach read.

This book was a gift from my friend Liza. This got me through the strangest most boring (to date) temp job this week. I like that Notaro writes the way I think -- you know me, a little non-linear, self-deprecating - but I would really love to think -- very very funny and somewhat self aware.

You're well over a 100 pages in to the book before the real storyline begins. But if you got that far, you won't really care that much, because you'll be sufficently amused by the storyline. The story takes place in a supposedly fictional town with supposedly fictional characters - but she writes about them so endearingly that I'm sure their are elements of people she knows.

The characters are pretty well rounded, and each seem to have their own voice. Except for maybe the main characters husband Charlie -- he's a little lacking -- mostly what the reader learns about him is that he puts up with the main character and has a good sense of humor.

I don't want to spoil anything, and my favorite parts are spoilers. But mostly this book just gave me a few laugh out loud moments when I really needed them.

Lightweight humor with a touch of mystery. A good beach book. Again, emphasis on the lightweight.

Made it to 100 pages but stopped. Mildly entertaining, but just too much.

Take for example this sentence: “Anything synthetic will not only cling to your wet, leaking skin like a hickey on the neck of a high school senior on picture day but will cost you more than a reckless cocaine habit in dry cleaning.”

Too much? Yeah. I still will try her most popular book.

Hilarious!!!!

Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

Merged review:

Just bad, I couldn't make it past chapter 3.


Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

I was constantly laughing out loud while reading this book. However it was not just a meaningless funny book, the encounters and feelings described as the character deals with living in a new town are outrageous but with enough real truth to make the book relate-able.

This book gets a wide range of reviews, from 1 to 5 stars. And of my own group of friends, I have one who loves Laurie Notaro and recommended her books to me, and another friend, who had to put the first one she tried to read down. I personally love this author--she makes me laugh out loud! Sure, there are some less than stellar examples of writing within, but the huge belly laughs more than make up for it, in my opinion. I am by turns a critic who can't get past certain writing taboos and a fan who will let anything slide. In Notaro's instance, I'm a fan!