Someday, Someday, Maybe - Review.
Anyone who reads my blog or knows me in real life probably knows that I'm obsessed with Gilmore Girls. So when I found out that one of the stars, Lauren Graham, published a book a few years ago, there's no way I wasn't going to pick up and have a read. I also heard on the grapevine that Lauren Graham is releasing a memoir at the end of November, which I'll definitely be picking up when it comes out.
Someday, Someday, Maybe is Graham's debut novel, based on a fictionalisation of her experiences as an actress in the New York in the mid-90s. Franny is an exasperated actress with just six months left on the deadline she set herself three years ago. However, all she has under her belt are commercials for laundry detergent and ugly Christmas sweaters, and a fruitless waitressing job. I decided to get the audiobook narrated by Lauren Graham herself, which I think really added to the experience. She already has a great writing style, so hearing all the characters in her voice, all the inflections and tone, really brought everything to life.
I was afraid that Franny would be another Lorelai Gilmore. Lorelai is a proto-Zooey Deschanel, charming, adorably awkward, bumbling and fast-talking. As much as I love Lorelai, I did always think that her character tried too hard to be quirky. Franny, though equally charming, has a more believable awkwardness about her. Lauren Graham found a way to make Franny unique in a way that's not obnoxious. Franny felt like a quaint stranger you meet at the bar, recounting all her tales of trying to become an actress.
This was very easy reading (or listening), and I was completely sucked into her life and journey, Graham has a great sense of characterisation that makes you love each and every character. While the plot is fairly predictable at times, it was very amusing. Lauren Graham is as funny on paper as she is in real life, I even found myself laughing out loud a few times. This definitely isn't an action packed book, in fact, the story only really peaks in the last third of the book, which was frustrating as we were left with a somewhat cliffhanger. If Graham released a sequel, I'd definitely read it though (and I'm not usually one for sequels).
Life can be heavy sometimes, and so can literature, so it's nice to find some nice, light entertainment. Graham is not only a great comedic actress, but a great comedic writer. She satirises actors and the industry, makes fun of love triangles in movies and has lots of observational humour. One of my favourite quotes of the novel were, "We worry about Frank in the way New Yorkers worry about strangers whose apartments they can see into. Which is to say, we made up a name for him and have theories about his life, and we’d call 911 if we saw something frightening happen while spying on him, but if I ran into him on the subway, I’d look the other way." I thought it captured the human condition perfectly.
This may be chick lit, but it's well written and well thought out chick lit. Lauren Graham writes characters that you really care about, and only wish the best for. She has succeeded in a field were many others have failed, and I can't wait to see what she brings out next.
I gave Someday, Someday, Maybe 4 stars on Goodreads.