Delusions of Grandma [Paperback]

Carrie Fisher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1994

By the author of "Postcards From the Edge" and "Surrender the Pink", this novel is about an eight-and-a-half month pregnant screenwriter and her extended family and friends. Tensions are running high between Cora and her boyfriend, Ray, whose mother is recuperating as their guest.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fisher ( Surrender the Pink ) is up to her usual schtick: analyzing the dynamics of a love affair gone sour. It all works fairly well, as long as the narrator, pregnant Hollywood script rewriter Cora Sharpe, doesn't get carried away with her own clever quips. Mildly concerned that she won't survive labor, Cora is writing to her unborn child. Between these piquant scribblings, the narrative backtracks to events leading up to Cora's pregnancy, including a pivotal phase in the relationship with her ex-boyfriend Ray, the expectant father . When a friend with AIDS moves in with them, Cora's efforts to ease his final days demonstrate to Ray that he is not her top priority. Exit Ray, and enter some wacky and not-so-convincing plot twists focused on Cora's flamboyant mother ("To label her eccentric would be a disservice to the words," Cora remarks). Scenarios built around this show-bizzy grandma-to-be, whose "heartfelt delusions" give the book its title, lack the conviction of earlier chapters. Still, Fisher's nonstop pithy dialogue and opinionated heroine make this a lively, witty read.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

With tongue in cheek, Fisher delivers another of her seriocomic novels ( Postcards from the Edge, LJ 8/87; Surrender the Pink, LJ 7/90) that seem to mirror her various lives: Hollywood brat, actress, screenwriter. Add mother to the mix, and you have her latest plot, about a screenwriter whose love affair coincides with a friend's dying of AIDS and who finds herself pregnant after the affair ends. The narrative combines letters (not too many) to her unborn daughter (she is convinced she is having a girl) with introspective monologs and dialogues with friends. (As Cora/Carrie notes, she has her friends, her talking, and her work--where is there room for a man?) The novel is full of the throwaway one-liners for which Fisher is known, both in her films and her writing, and perhaps that's the problem with it: it is ultimately a book one can read and forget as quickly as a one-liner. Only for fans. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/1/93.
- Francine Fialkoff, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone Press; First Edition edition (April 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671718282
• ISBN-13: 978-0671718282
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,095,430 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.