A Time For Comedy

A Time For Comedy

Adult humor
Last night I was outside ODing on root beer floats (the school
board vice chair alternative to illicit drugs or illicit anything).
Normally humor books don't fall too far above bodice rippers in my
reading and reviewing priorities. (The latter carry a when Hades
freezes over tag). But desperate times call for desperate measures.
The next day my younger daughter would be moving out and I had no idea
how I'd handle that. So when Katie handed me Why My Third Husband
Will Be a Dog and My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space
(both by Lisa Scottoline--remember we just discovered that her
wonderfully crafted mystery audio books are to housecleaning what
novocaine is to oral surgery) to return to the library for her I fell
on them with the fervor of a Titanic Passenger discovering lifeboat
space.
That was one of my best decisions ever. Today was when I
learned for the first time what bibliotherapy is all about.
First of all Lisa (sorry, but when an author creates an image of
herself middle age and braless in an emergency room, the male created
covention of last name reference seems overformal) is a skilled
writer. She has an amazing ability to rock two very different
genres. Her mysteries combine law expertise and the ability to build
and maintain suspense with a deep understanding of the human
psyche. Her comedy books, partly written by her equally articulate
daughter, Francesca, are humor like dark chocolate. There is
poignancy within the humor and a chance to laugh and bond over
embarassing experiences readers may have also experienced...sort of
like real life. Very few humor writers achieve this because very few
write from the heart.
Lisa is the peanut butter and jelly holding together a three
generation sandwich. Her mother, who lives with her brother in
Florida, is strongly opinionated and sometimes illogical. But any of
us who get to be that good looking, funny, and energetic in our late
eighties must have been saints in a previous life. Daughter,
Francesca, like my Katie, is a bright, vibrant young woman any mother
would be proud of...and want to protect from all harm and heartbreak.
Even the animal companions--the dogs, cats, and chickens have very
strong and individual presences. In contrast, Lisa's two biggest
mistakes, her ex husbands, are written off as Thing One and Thing Two.
Second, many of the stories are drop dead funny. We're talking
about a woman who:
*arrived at the emergency room after her having the tip of her finger
bitten off by her dog, braless in the presence of a hot male nurse;
*discovered that, by virtue of hitting a certain age, she no longer
exists as far as fashion magazines are concerned;
*went to the emergency room after getting a live moth caught in her ear;
*Celebrated her daughter's birthday on the wrong day for the first
three years
*was eclipsed by her 86-year-old, lab coat wearing mother on a book
tour...
We're talking about the next door neighbor you'd always have the
coffee pot on for because you can't wait to hear what she's been up to
next.
Lisa became a writer because she was bothered by the bit parts
women held in popular novels. She wanted to create extraordinary
ordinary female protagonists to reflect women's experiences and
inspire their daughters. After her mysteries succeeded on a grand
scale she turned to her life and family for material and emerged as a
very amusing and inspiring Everywoman.
"Bottom line, I'm a woman on my own. I'm betting you can
relate, even if you're married or sharing your bed with something
other than a golden retriever. In the end, we are all of us on our own.
And that's good news.
Because we're strong enough to star in our own lives."
YOWZA!
On a personal note, at the end of the day I've read and reviewed,
helped Katie with packing, and volunteered at Orono Community
Garden...all without hearing the words involuntary commitment. Wait a
minute. I've gotta get up again tomorrow? Yikes!
A great big shout to women with me in this very challenging and
confusing stage in life.
Also a shout out to Lisa. Girl, as long as you don't churn out bodice
rippers, you've got a reader for life. I'll bring in my book club
this fall. If you're ever in my part of Maine, I'll spring for the
ice cream and root beer.
Julia Emily Hathaway




Sent from my iPod