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Anne Lamott’s poignant first novel, reissued in an attractive new edition.
Writer (and sometime housecleaner) Jennifer is twenty-three when her beloved father, Wallace, is diagnosed with a brain tumor. This catastrophic discovery sets off Anne Lamott’s unexpectedly sweet and funny first novel, which is made dramatic not so much by Wallace’s illness as by the emotional wake it sweeps under Jen and her brothers, self-contained Ben and feckless, lovable Randy. With characteristic affection and accuracy, Lamott sketches this offbeat family and their nearest and dearest as they draw ever closer in the intimacy Jen prizes “among the other estimable things: good music, good hard laughter, good sex, good industry, and good books.”
Poignant… 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…
Hard Laughter – A Moving and Funny Novel about Family Pain 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