Elissa Sussman’s adult debut Funny You Should Ask hits shelves today. But what’s funny is, I haven’t heard more people talking about it in my bookish circles on Instagram and TikTok. I finished the book in 24 hours this past weekend. And my first thought was, “This could (and should) be the beach read of 2022!”
In her dual timeline story, Sussman covers so much ground, from celebrity journalism/gossip culture to imposter syndrome to film nerdery.
Chani Horowitz is a 26-year-old writer when she first meets Gabe Parker. His career is about to break big as he’s slated to be the next James Bond. They hit it off and the initial interview extends into an invite to a movie premiere and more. Then, the celeb profile she writes about him goes viral, essentially making both their careers. Ten years later, now divorced Chani who has two books under her belt, is asked to interview him again.
Snappy prose and great banter make for a fast read. And l loved that Sussman intersperses Chani’s POV with articles reporting/speculating on what went down. If you read LaineyGossip (or Go Fug Yourself) on the regular, Funny You Should Ask should be on your TBR.
Pick this one up if you liked the celeb/normie elements of Robinne Lee’s The Idea of You. And/or the voiceyness of Kate Spencer’s In a New York Minute. While it’s contemporary fiction with a romance in it, romance readers should know you do get a HEA. And one fairly steamy scene toward the end.
4 stars
CW: alcoholism/rehab; death of a parent at age 10; sexism in Hollywood & journalism; homophobia (actor loses out on a job because he’s gay, eventually comes out on his own terms).
Elissa Sussman will be in conversation with Kate Spencer at Chevalier Books (in-store, not virtual) in LA on April 12 at 7 p.m. Register here.
Get Funny You Should Ask from The Ripped Bodice | Bookshop.org | IndieBound | Amazon | Apple Books