Delusions of Grandma [Unabridged] [Hardcover]

Carrie Fisher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1994

Carrie Fisher boldly goes where no man has gone before: motherhood. Hollywood Screenwriter Cora Sharpe has taken to sriting letters to the unborn child she's tentatively dubbed Esme - even though it sounds like a noise your nose makes. But then, Cora has what one of the endless intimates she thinks of as her Committee calls "a big loud life", and recent events have been no exception. Her condidant and writing partner, Bud, has been on a bipolar roller coaster. Her dear friend, William, AIDS-ridden has finally taken leave of his life, with the aplomb befitting a "suburban show business sultan". And in the vacuum that follows his departure, Cora's romance with quiet, gentle Ray has suddenly flickered and expired. Then Cora finds out she's pregnant, and even the Committee can't steer her through this one. In a fight-or-flight confrontation with maturity, flight seems to have the upper hand. So when her mother, Viv, tries to rally support for her latest madcap scheme: to kidnap her Alzheimer's-stricken father from a nursing home and take him back to Whitewright, Texas, the place of his birth....well, Cora, for once, is game. With Bud in tow, she signs on for what turns out to be a cosmic (not to mention comic) exploration of the urges that drive us to feather our nests and fill them, to flee them, and find our way home. With singular deftness, Fisher captures the ambivalence and absurdity of modern maternity, in her wittiest and wisest novel to date.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: Simonn And Schuester.; First Edition edition (1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0617322279
• ISBN-13: 978-0617322276
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,064,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carrie Fisher, the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, became an icon when she starred as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy. Her star-studded career includes roles in numerous films such as The Blues Brothers and When Harry Met Sally. She is the author of five bestselling novels, Wishful Drinking, Surrender the Pink, Delusions of Grandma, The Best Awful, and Postcards from the Edge, which was made into a hit film starring Shirley MacLaine and Meryl Streep. Fisher's experience with addiction and mental illness--and her willingness to speak honestly about them--have made her a sought-after speaker and respected advocate.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh Out Loud Funny, November 21, 2001

By 

"lissaplymouth" (Plymouth, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delusions of Grandma (Hardcover)

Definitely read this with a friend in the room. (One who doesn't mind being interrupted while you read aloud from every other page.)
This book is full of the type of wit that I wish I possessed.
Not for people who like a very straight-foward plot. It is a bit overpowered by the prose, but with prose like this who cares? I reached the end and immediately wanted to either start over or invite Fisher to lunch.
Fisher has scored another hit.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Carrie, you can do better!, December 11, 2004

By 

Lubug (St. Paul, MN, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delusions of Grandma (Hardcover)

I really like Carrie Fisher. She grew up in the highly artificial environment of Hollywood with famous parents and yet has a compelling down-to-earthness that I admire. In interviews, she sounds like a very bright woman full of self-deprecating wit. Both "Surrender the Pink" and "Postcards from the Edge" sounded a lot like Ms. Fisher herself, to good effect. Yes, her characters don't live like the rest of us. In fact, most of us probably wouldn't want to live their lives, even if those lives are easier in material ways.

So, I'm convinced she was having a bad week or month when she wrote "Delusions of Grandma." Instead of the madcap, witty work of her other books, this one tries too hard. Ray, the protagonist's boyfriend, hangs around waiting for her to become less self-indulgent and self-obsessed and finally gives up. We feel for him, probably more than for her. She knows she is self-obsessed but can't seem to stop herself. Almost anyone has a habit they can't seem to break -- eating, alcohol, etc., etc.-- but when the habit is ALWAYS considering yourself and your whims first, it's really hard for other folks to have sympathy.

I love Ms. Fisher's other books. I think she has now thoroughly mined her own life for material. Maybe she could hire a research assistant to bring her information about something else, so she could apply her formidable wit to a fresh situation?

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars intriguing characters but so self-indulgent, June 4, 2002

By 

Shlomit (Jerusalem) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delusions of Grandma (Paperback)

I found myself skimming this book for the good bits - the ones that are witty or where things actually happen. But about two thirds of it are just tedious wallowing in intelligent but pointless musings. Some fierce editing would have made it an enjoyable book.