Customer Reviews

The Light Fantastic

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It always seems like a leap of faith when you spend no small amount of change on an author that you have never heard of who has just published her first novel. I am so glad that I jumped.
Ms. Tucker has written a wonderful charming work, full of carefully drawn characters that will stay in your head long after you have finished reading.
I suppose the book could be classified as "uber fiction", that much written in genre that encompasses all grades of work (some well written, some just plain awful) with Xena and Gabrielle as its prototypes. If you have an aversion for the genre I strongly suggest that you not let that stop you from reading a truly rich and funny romantic comedy.
Chloe Donahue, librarian and part-time drama teacher at the High School she attended as a teenager, is directing the senior class school production of "Oklahoma", a task that she hopes will be successful and help erase the previous year's fiasco of an attempt to stage an opera. Into her life enters Sara D'Amico, aunt of Nelson, a sweet high school football player turned thespian who has been picked to play "Curly", the lead in the school production. Sara, who herself was a successful actress in Hollywood, is now living a reclusive life with her brother and nephew, having fled the Hollywood scene and carries with her both emotional and physical scars from her time on the west coast. Chloe and Sara meet and thus begin a "Crazy" (as in Patsy Cline) romance that adheres to the line that the path of true love never did run smooth.
Ms. Tucker presents a rich bounty of characters, most of whom reside in a small town called Stonecreek, a northeastern town on the shores of Lake Erie. The author presents a wonderful list of supporting characters and they are drawn in such a way that you get a real sense of their relationships to one another. While much of the focus remains with Chloe and Sara's rollercoaster romance and the production of the school play, there are many well thought out subplots.
The publisher calls the book a "romantic screwball comedy" and being a being a fan of that type of film genre, I say this book is that and more. This is a novel to be savored. I hope that this will be the first of a many published works from this first-time author.

The other reviews tell you the story of the book, so I won't go there. I will say be careful where you read it. I had to go to the hospital emergency room and made the mistake of taking this book to read between the tests. The author obviously likes the Three Stooges. Not only does she use them in the book, but she writes many scenes that they could have performed. I kept wanting to laugh out loud, just guffaw, which is not encouraged in a hospital, so I had to keep sticking my face in a pillow. I'm probably lucky I didn't end up on the psych ward. Sara and Chloe reminded me of the love,hate relationships that Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn specialized in. If you've ever loved someone so much that you wanted to knock their blocks off for the way they were behaving, you'll love these two. The whole book is not funny, but the rest of the story is satisfying also. Great story, great characters, great read.

Sara had been a movie star. Now she's a recluse working with her brother, Dave, and her nephew to turn a cow pasture in Northwestern Pennsylvania into Dave's dream of a par-three golf course. Scarred inside and out, Sara braves the public and risks further panic attacks to support her nephew in his bid for the lead in the High School play, Oklahoma. During his audition she meets the local librarian and director of the play, Chloe. Chloe is hiding in her hometown reluctant to face an unpredictable future, preferring the comfort of her hometown library to the need for change and personal growth. The ensuing courtship between Chloe and Sara makes for a sometimes moving sometimes hilarious story.

Tucker's technique of letting us hear the characters' thoughts results in some laugh out loud moments. The engaging characters and the action of the High School play adds up to a fast paced story that's hard to put down. The Light Fantastic is 444 pages long but when I finished wished it were longer!

The Light Fantastic is all about love, support, understanding and acceptance from the families we're born into and those that we choose. I highly recommend The Light Fantastic.

And the best lesbian love story romantic comedy ever written. What a great film this would make. It's sequel (also first published online) is just as wonderful. But this hugely amusing story is in a class by itself. Even the chapter headings are a riot of tongue in cheek double entendre. This wonderful book is possibly the most endearing lesbian novel ever written. The only thing that comes anywhere near it for me is "Fried Green Tomatoes." Ya gotta love a book where the panic stricken ex Hollywood actress, scarred in more ways than one, is hiding out from life in her home town and happens to cross paths with the feisty high school drama coach who enlists her to help with her production of "Oklahoma!" Hilarity ensues, as does tender erotic tinged romance. These characters may be based on the originals but they come out in very original ways all their own. Sweetly quirky and unforgettable. This is a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan romantic comedy for lesbians. Actresses complain they don't write great roles for them anymore, but they're just not looking in the right place. Lucy and Renee, just look at what you inspired. This one deserves to become a classic.

I never write reviews for books. I figure, who needs a strangers' opinion on a personal thing like a book. This book however made me laugh out loud and that never happens. The characters were real and I cared about what happened with them. The story line was still formulaic like most lesbian romances.... girl meets girl, obstacles and the past get in the way, and they find their way back to each other. However, the story around the 2 women was funny and real and down to earth. If you read this story and don't find someone in the book that reminds you of someone you know it would be a shock. The dialogue was very well written and believable. I would recommend it highly for a light read with sweet romance and a lot of laughs.

All of the complaints I've read in other reviews seem to be valid. If you aren't tickled or entertained by the characters in this book in the first few pages, you're going to find the book to be a dreadful bore. In addition, clearly the author is inexperienced, and the editing could have been better. Too often the same word was used repeatedly in the same sentence; structure was rather loose. In addition there were one or two malappropisms (words that sound like the proper word, but mean something completely different). But despite the flaws, I can't help but love this book. Some of it may be nostalgia from my days of devouring online fiction, when I first encountered this tale (and its sequel). In fact, I'm sure that is contributing to my generous review, but I really can't help myself.

LA Tucker admits to being an inexperienced author, yet she can really spin a great yarn. She has a knack for picking out the ridiculous and the poignant in every day situations and relationships. Who hasn't acted in amateur theater? Who doesn't have co-dependent family members? The author takes usual situations, and gives them the slightest twist to turn everything on its head and leave you laughing out loud due to the humor intrinsic in the moment, or in sympathy.

There are no chase scenes; there's not a murder to solve; occasionally the pace lags a bit. But the characters created are so human. Sure, they seem unnaturally able to come up with one-line come-backs with the greatest of ease, something most of us can never seem to do in the moment, but it's the portrayal of family and community, of being a good friend, of riding out relationships through fights, misunderstandings, and the meddling of others that elevates this book and allows me to move past its flaws. But then, I also have a soft spot for books that use the "best friend as a kick-in-the-pants" tool to keep the characters progressing, and also books that involve an active and healthy family life (even if it's families we construct ourselves), so this book was right up my alley.

If the themes I've described sound interesting enough to you to move past the first-timer flaws in this novel, then you're in for a treat. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a story I'll be enjoying for years to come.

I did not expect this book to be as wonderful as it was. I enhaled it!! I enjoyed every page!!
This book has everything: the romance, the heartbreak, wonderful friendship..
I cant wait for other books by this talented author.

I bought this book based on the previous reviews. I regret spending the money. This book is mildly amusing, but I found the women characters bad tempered and not very deep. I quickly grew weary of their posturing, temper tantrums and swearing. The male characters are mostly nice people, and some were interesting. I really liked the horse.

The editing is very bad. One wonders if anyone read the galleys. There are 2-3 words missing on many pages. Words are blatantly misused. There are several large gaps in the plot.

If you can somehow accept these characters as people you want to read about, you might enjoy this tedious book. But don't say you weren't warned.