Book Review of Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

 Book Review of Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

Characters- Gabe, Chani, Ollie, Teddy, and others.

Genre- Contemporary Romance (kinda like a Fan Fiction)

No. of pages- 345

The story revolves around Gabe and Chani…Chani who is a reporter (mostly a writer…you’ll see)  has always been a fan of Gabe Parker and jumps at the idea of interviewing him.

Chani Horowitz, a writer in her twenties, who according to her boyfriend is only good at writing puff pieces. In addition, the success of her classmates on getting book deals has made her believe that she can never write good fiction. Then, she is hired to write a celebrity profile on Gabe Parker, she takes it as an opportunity to prove she’s a good writer- not just to the world but to herself.

Gabe Parker has been her ultimate celebrity crush, the one that made her heart pump even on the big screen. How would she handle herself seeing him in person? Gabe has recently been casted as the new James Bond which the public has not exactly accepted with an open mind. As a result, it has invited a lot of criticism for him. It's both scary and exhilarating... but if she can hold her calm and write a masterpiece, she may win big. Gabe will receive positive press, and her career will kick upstairs.

Even so, what happens next changes Chani's life in ways she never expected, as the interview develops into an unforgettable weekend that has the tabloids agog. 

Now -Ten years later, following a traumatic divorce, Chani is back in Los Angeles, focused only on her job. However, she has spent the greater part of the last decade being asked about her extremely personal Gabe Parker profile at every opportunity. Whatever new essay collection or viral editorial she promotes, it always goes back to Gabe. So when his public relations staff proposes that they reconvene for another interview, she wants to decline. She wants to pretend that she has forgotten their time together years ago. However, those seventy-two hours are still vividly clear in her recollection. Hence, she agrees.

Chani is aware that confronting Gabe again will mean confronting sentiments she has worked so hard to avoid. What do you think happened that weekend? What do you think would happen now? Would they keep it completely professional or talk about the elephant in the room? Also, is there even an elephant in the room or is it all her delulu? Like all of us have about our favorite celebs?  This irresistibly compelling tale, which alternates between their initial encounter and their reunion a decade later, is what kept me hooked till the very end, and I can assure it would do the same for you.

But not just that, it raises serious questions about masculinity, how people want change but only that comforts them.- 

“—they crave something new, but not that kind of new. They want to be challenged but comforted at the same time. They desire fresh takes, but only in a form that’s familiar to them. That’s to say, audiences will accept something different as long as it feels the same.”

It also shows how people don’t separate the art from the artist- how we don’t watch a movie or listen to songs solely because they’re good but because a particular star is associated with it. Also, that we’re more interested in the personal lives of celebrities than the art they bring forth and we’ll never know why a particular art/movie/song etc. did well, is it because of the quality or the person starring in it? It’s clear how an artist feels when Gabe says-  

“I’ll never know if people go to see my movies because they like me, or because they think of my personal life as a never-ending car wreck that they’re hoping will show up on-screen for the first time in a long time—that I don’t care. I don’t care what people will say. I know what I want.’

Aforementioned quote perfectly conveys that even a star is never sure why the audience follows their work (like movies, songs, etc.)…because of them? Or the quality of the content they offer? Not sure which answer would make them feel at ease. Both answers are equally saddening.

I’d give this book 3.5 stars. It made me feel a lot of emotions, and questioned a lot of things including how we look at people, situations, and the world in general. That we only choose to acknowledge about a situation is what our mind is thinking at that particular moment.

Opinion- This book made me feel like I was spending time with my celebrity crush (No I won’t tell who it is). So, if you're into fanfictions you have to try this one.

Funny You Should Ask has become one of my most favorite books of all time and my comfort reads.

Also, this is the first book of Elissa Sussman that I’ve read and now I think I'm gonna go after her other books and eat them up like a bug. In other words, I plan on following her work religiously.

I don’t know how many of you would actually read the whole post but if you have then please like and share it with the person you think would like to read it.

Would you read it?

Song- Until I Found You by Stephen Sanchez

If I have to mention something I did not like about this book then it would be that at times It felt a little stretched, but I think it's just me, not the book.

SPOILER ALERT

Why does she never ask him why he called her baby and not Chani that night and it's the reason she tells him to stop?

Thank you For reading.

Please go through my other work as well.

Instagram- @litreaderdairies