Hard Laughter: A Novel (Paperback)

by Anne Lamott (Author) "My family lived for fifteen years in a castle built more than a century ago by an accentric man who wanted his Rhine-born wife to..." (more)
Key Phrases: prone yoga, dream consultant, adrenaline attack, Burn Outs, San Francisco, Jesus Christ (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The appeal of this book is . . . that it has much to say about how a good family works . . . in times both hard and easy . . . It's a moving and strangely joyful book, a kind of celebration, and it's written with an assurance far beyond the reach of most first novelists."--Anne Tyler, The New York Times Book Review

"If love is details, so is storytelling, and Anne Lamott excels at it. Her way with analogy, metaphor, and evocative detail is subtle; her ability to shift from the specific to the general to the specific again, superb."--Suzanne Mantell, The Nation
-- Review

Review

"The appeal of this book is . . . that it has much to say about how a good family works . . . in times both hard and easy . . . It's a moving and strangely joyful book, a kind of celebration, and it's written with an assurance far beyond the reach of most first novelists."--Anne Tyler, The New York Times Book Review

"If love is details, so is storytelling, and Anne Lamott excels at it. Her way with analogy, metaphor, and evocative detail is subtle; her ability to shift from the specific to the general to the specific again, superb."--Suzanne Mantell, The Nation

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: North Point Press (April 15, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865472807
• ISBN-13: 978-0865472808
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,542 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant..., May 14, 2003

By	CoffeeGurl (MA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Reading one of Anne Lamott's novels is like taking a refreshing cool bath on the hottest day of the year; it quenches the soul. Additionally, her wonderfully gritty voice resonates from the pages. The story of a family's struggle to keep the happiness going through the most poignant and disarming moments of their lives is insightful, touching and memorable. Hilarious and poignant as ever, Lamott again illustrates how her characters make everything difficult seem worth undertaking. All in all, a wonderful and illuminating read...

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard Laughter - A Moving and Funny Novel about Family Pain, June 1, 1997

By A Customer

I stumbled onto Anne Lamott while grocery shopping. Marginally coping with a new baby and a three year old I picked up "Operating Instructions-A Journal of My Son's First Year" and threw it into my cart. It quickly became my book of "daily affirmations" for the less than perfect parent. With hopeful anticipation I searched for more of her writing and found "Hard Laughter". I wasn't disappointed. The characters came alive and I realized the author was writing about her own family. These were the same voices I had grown to like so much in her journal. Once again her imperfect, humorous, messy, love-filled life lifted my spirits. I laughed even as I read of her father's diagnosis and treatment of brain cancer. The only disappointment was that it ended too soon and I had to leave the characters I felt I knew so well. I can't wait for more Lamott

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars love the brutal honesty, June 8, 2004

By	M. Green (Resaca, GA) - See all my reviews

How could anyone not love this book (and the author)?!? Never have I read such a brutally honest account of ones life. Anne Lamott's writing is so refreshly sincere. All believers in Christ should rally around Ms. Lamott and encourage her to continue to bare her naked soul to the rest of the world. I read reviews that said she was irreverent, which if you read with a closed mind you may find this to be so, but I found her to be a REAL person, who realizes she is simply saved by God's grace and by nothing she's done on her on. I would encourage everyone to read this book, with and open mind and heart, and check your judgemental mind at the door. Keep it up Anne!