Customer Reviews

There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell: A Novel of Sewer Pipes, Pageant Queens, and Big Trouble

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Change the names, create an absurd little scenario, and call it fiction. As a fan of Notaro's essay collections, this story, "There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell," didn't surprise or disappoint. It doesn't stretch too far from her roots in writing first person vignettes about a funny, irreverent woman, however, the woman in this story happens to be named "Maye." Maye is clearly a Laurie alter ego, and it helped to have read her earlier collections to get a full picture of this likeable, humble creature.

Maye and her husband, Charlie, move from Phoenix, Arizona to Spaulding, Washington, because of her husband's new job. The plot centers on Maye's insatiable quest to make new friends. She is very unsuccessful--mistaking a coven of witches for a book group, infiltrating a meeting of vegetarians only to be busted eating meat later that night, and making a fool of herself at her first faculty gathering by getting stuck in her sweater and doing a striptease of sorts. She makes an enemy of the town matriarch, Rowena Spaulding, and her postman, who makes it necessary for her to take her dog, Mickey, to obedience training. Ultimately, Maye decides to win friends by attempting to win the annual "Miss Sewer Pipe" crown. She obtains a sponsor, the mysterious former Queen, Ruby Spicer, and as their friendship develops, the story grows more interesting. In spite of all the characters bantering back and forth in overly clever repartee and an annoying abundance of similes, I couldn't help but turn the pages just to see how the town pageant would unfold.

No great piece of literature, but fans of Laurie Notaro will love this book, and I applaud the author for giving "fiction" a crack, even though according to her acknowledgements, she seemed forced into it. Just keep writing Laurie. You make us laugh.

Michele Cozzens is the author of Irish Twins

Ms. Notaro's first work of fiction is a hit! A great summer read. Fans of her earlier works will see a little bit of the author in the main character of the book, Maye Roberts, a lonely transplant to the tiny town of Spaulding, Washington. You will laugh out loud at Maye's antics on her quest to make a friend in this tight knit community with a secret in its past. I loved this book, and I think you will, too.

Once again, Laurie Notaro makes us laugh to the point of incontinence. This is her first work of fiction, and hopefully won't be her last. Her non-fiction work is well-known to millions, and this book will not disappoint those loyal fans. You'll laugh, you'll cry from laughing, you'll recommend this book to your friends.

I didn't know what to think about I Think I Might Be Going to Hell. On one hand, Laurie Notaro's sense of humor is as sharp as ever; on the other, she lays the similes on pretty thick, and the first hundred pages or so read as though they're a fictional account of her life now that she's moved away from Arizona. However, Maye is more likely to hold her tongue--though, of course, she shares her thoughts with the reader.

Maye Roberts is an overweight thirty-something woman whose life changes suddenly when her college professor husband is offered a position at a university in Spaulding, Washington. Maye starts out with no friends, and no hope of making any--except through the annual Swer Pipe Queen contest, into which pretty much anyone can join. Desperate to find a sponsor, Maye goes in search of a town legend, Ruby Spicer, and learns a few things about herself--and the town--in the process.

Notaro's first work of fiction is just as funny as her previous collections of essays. Some of what happens is predictable--but much of it is not, as the author herself is unpredictable. And much of what the author writes is absurd, but then again, she herself is absurd sometimes. One other thing I didn't like about the book was that Maye's husband is rather one-dimensional, and the villainess is kind of cartoon-like. But in all, this was another quick, easy read from one of my favorite authors. As usual, I can't wait to read what she writes next.

Laurie Notaro is funny when writing non-fiction. By attempting a (most likely) thinly veiled fictional account of her move to Washington State, she kind of falls flat on her face. The strange Ruby Spicer storyline and even stranger ending did nothing for me. I really would have liked Laurie to account her real move to Oregon, complete with all the gory details, similar to what she's done in her non-fiction books.

I picked up the mail at noon and now 9 hours later have to say it was a wonderful read! Beware of eating or drinking while reading. There should be a hazardous warning on this book "Warning: Eating or Drinking while reading this book may cause laughter induced splats on your pages!" The laughter starts on the first page and carries you through to the end. Next please!!

A humorist who mostly writes essay-type non-fiction (such as Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club and Autobiography of a Fat Bride), this was a departure into the fiction world for Notaro. It's hard to slap a genre label on it....it's part mystery, part humor, part chick lit satire. Maye is a reporter/writer who has relocated to a small Oregon (I think it's Oregon) town with her husband, a professor who's accepted a job at the local college. A friendly gal, she's trying hard to fit in but is having a rough time of it - half the town is too snooty, and the other half is too kooky. You get a funny glimpse at some stereotyping of the West Coast old-hippie personalities, which is amusing, and even funnier are the times Maye tries so very hard to fit in with and impress her husband's university colleagues, but seems to only succeed in making them laugh at her (which the reader does as well, especially when the very first impression she makes is shimmying her plump self out of a horrid, too-tight sweater and not realizing she has the entire faculty as an audience). At some point someone mentions a local contest, the Sewer Pipe Queen Pageant - so named because the founder of the town had built a sewer pipe factory there moons ago. Maye is suddenly determined to win the pageant, and her adventures in trying to do so are hysterical. I recommend it - great characters, very funny, and something about it makes you look at the people and places in your life a whole new way - like maybe you missed something really humorous about their ordinary behaviors and eccentricities and you've been missing out on the joke. It would be great to look at life through Notaro's keen and unusual eye all the time.

I've enjoyed all of Laurie Notaro's books, and found this book to as funny and enteraining as any of her essay books. That said, it's really too bad that more care wasn't exercised when selecting the narrator / reader for the book on CD. Janet Song's voice does not work at all for the main character, Maye. She does a really decent job of portraying the older and more kooky female characters, but 30-something, hip, and irreverent (Maye) was too a big stretch for Ms. Song. What an unfortunate oversight.

I can't recommend Laurie's previous books enough. Just the mention of her name puts an idiotic smile on my face! "There's a (slight) chance" is a bit of a departure for me, but still enjoyable. Whereas all the other books flow with complete abandon this one seems a little forced, maybe trying a bit too hard to be comical. Laurie's detailed description of Ruby Spicer and Rowena Spaulding (two of the novels main characters) makes me think these chicks really exist... You'll have to convince me otherwise!

This is a fast, fun, and engaging read that kept me lightly turning the pages and looking forward to more. Notaro packs wit, observation, and a character-driven plot with little details that create and fill a world, and let us easily step into it. As a newcomer to her work, I hope she has many more books on the way!