Ask Again Later: A Novel (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When her mother is diagnosed with cancer, New Yorker Emily Rhode ditches her too-perfect boyfriend and far from perfect legal career to become her mother's primary caregiver. At the same time, she reconciles with her estranged father, who left when she was five. When he offers her a job as a receptionist at his law firm, complete with Friday martini lunch dates and father-daughter cab rides to work, Emily agrees, and jokey family bonding follows as mom skates through treatment and dad proves to be more of a teddy bear than an iceman. Davis, author of Girls' Poker Night and a former writer for The Late Show with David Letterman, loads the narrative with one-liner asides and funny riffs (there's a particularly good bit about espresso machines), though she's less adept at sizing up Emily's inner turmoil, notably her fear of committing to smart, patient and loving boyfriend Sam. Though soft-focused (taking care of cancer-stricken mom mostly consists of watching TV and playing board games), Davis's book leavens regret and tragedy with a light-handed wit. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Emily Rhode, the heroine of Davis' second novel, has a lot in common with Ruby Capote in Girls' Poker Night (2002). Like Ruby, Emily hides behind her wit, shirks commitment, and has daddy issues. Emily's father left when she was five, but he has suddenly reentered her life His reappearance coincides with a crisis in Emily's life: her mother has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Suddenly Emily isn't sure if she wants to be a lawyer, and abruptly quits her job. This conveniently separates her from her lover, Sam, whom she's unwilling to admit she's in love with. She takes a job as a receptionist at her father's law firm and moves in with her mother, getting to know her parents in a way she hadn't before, and in the process learning more about herself. Davis digs deeper than she did in her first novel and in doing so comes up with a book that is both very funny and deeply moving. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (January 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060875976
• ISBN-13: 978-0060875978
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #157,460 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

137 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Ask again later"....It's my favorite non-answer., January 29, 2008

By	Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Jill A. Davis somehow manages to write hysterically funny stories about the oddest people in a manner so smart and lucid that the reader is left chuckling with every page - while at the same time falling in love with the zany heroine of her latest book, Emily Rhode ('or Road' or 'Rowed' or even 'Rode', depending on the state of mind and at times acerbic patter of this marvelously created character). This is a book that sparkles with witty prose, high and low humor, and surprisingly a sensitive degree of philosophy about the current condition of life we are all living. The balance between funny and touching keeps the scales even, making the reader laugh at situations that in themselves are not at all funny - unless you have the perspective of Emily 'whatever'.

Emily is a trained lawyer whose career is put on hold with the sudden hyper-dramatic news of her mother Joanie's lump. No, cancer isn't funny, but Joanie is such a wildly entertaining character that when Emily moves in to care for her, all goes slightly bizarre. We meet the father Jim who left the family when Emily was very young and for whom she has no concern, the spendthrift airhead sister Marjorie who treats the world like a shopping party, Rick the boyfriend of Emily to whom she cannot commit, Perry her gay therapeutic friend, and Paul her therapist whose sessions contain some of the most hilarious (and most insightful) moments in the book. Divided into very short, titled 'chapters', Davis ably lets us get close to Emily by exploring her foibles and her perception of the world and her family by means of what could be stand-up comedy routines - until the sadness peaks through. Marriage, therapy, death, fatal illnesses, fidelity, menial jobs for overeducated people, failed relationships - all are grist for Davis' keen mind and wit.

An example of Davis' writing: 'As she's lying there waiting for surgery, I imagine a cancerous Pac-Man - or Lady Pac-Man - running through her body eating up her healthy tissues, her life, expanding its mass and taking over. Devouring the flesh that nurtured me, or longed to. I want to scream. And I'm mad that I'm of a generation that can best relate to parent's cancer to a video game.' And that is only a short tidbit of the superb writing by Jill A. Davis. This is a smart book, exceedingly well written, and one of the most entertaining reads of the year! Now in paperback... Grady Harp, January 08

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chick-Lit with no gum-snapping annoyances, February 8, 2008

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

While I am not a fan of Chick-Lit, I can confess to enjoying the occasional girls'-night-out-novel. Jill Davis is a young, savvy writer who has the pulse of the American young woman. This is not fluff (I'm thinking Shopaholics, for example, pure candy) but neither is this E. Annie Proulx. Davis' work is about real life, real situations with an overlay of humor that is a welcome seasoning.

Her prose hits all kinds of marks--my favorite passage happens to be a tart summary of how all soap operas are constructed ("The two-faced nurse", "the former stripper turned nurse" and my personal favorite "the hot but altruistic doctor who spends his vacations fixing the cleft palates of orphans in South America.") This got my attention. The scenes are tightly written--no excess of words and the descriptions make you feel as if you are right there with the characters.

The plot revolves around Emily, who goes to support her mother when she is diagosed with breast cancer. Emily has to cure monsters of her own back under the bed of her childhood bedroom. For anyone who wonders what "closure" actually means and also wonders if you can go home again, Davis creates an interesting novel around this situation. It reads like a clever television series, and is not a heavy book despite the subject matter. It's full of life and humor, sure to be a favorite with women's book groups.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK!, March 9, 2007

By	M. Avallone (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ask Again Later: A Novel (Hardcover)

Emily is the friend we all have or the person we are deep down inside. What I loved and admired most about Emily is that she was brave and strong enough to put her life on hold to come to terms with her family situation. Although her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and her dad was absent from her life since she was five years old, Emily was able to approach them with wit, humor and an open heart. Even though Emily was not outwardly emotional, and tried to make light of the situation with humor, you could feel her pain. I laughed and cried at the same time. Jill Davis is a genius!