There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell

A Novel of Sewer Pipes, Pageant Queens, and Big Trouble

By: Laurie Notaro

Narrated by: Susan Denaker

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

When her husband is offered a post at a small northwestern university, Maye Roberts is only too happy to pack up and leave the relentless Phoenix heat for the lush green quietude of Spaulding, Washington. While she loves the odd little town, there is one thing she didn't anticipate: just how heartbreaking it would be to leave her Phoenix friends behind. And when you're a childless 30-something freelance writer who works at home, making new friends can be quite a challenge.

After a series of false starts nearly gets her banished from the town, Maye decides that her last chance to connect with her new neighbors is to enter the annual Sewer Pipe Queen Pageant, a kooky but dead-serious local tradition open to contestants of all ages and genders. Aided by a deranged former pageant queen with one eyebrow, Maye doesn't just make a splash; she uncovers a sinister mystery that has haunted the town for decades.

©2007 Laurie Notaro (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"[Laurie Notaro] may be the funniest writer in this solar system." (The Miami Herald)

Not what I Expected

I felt the narrator's delivery didn't capture the typical Notaro wit. But it was a cute fun story nonetheless.

Surprisingly un-funny

I don't understand, I usually enjoy Laurie Notaro. However I found the humor very contrived, and the story boring. I gave up after a few chapters, so maybe the end is better.

Way unrealistic

I am a very uncritical consumer of beach read-type audiobooks, and am thus used to a fair amount of over the top scenarios and ditto reactions. While this book is well written and the audio version well read, too, the story is just too unrealistic to truly matter to me. The end is satisfying though, and, given the unrealistic premise, it makes sense. Still, I didn't really enjoy it for great parts of the plot.

Is it over yet?

I kept waiting for it to get better. Never got better and it seemed to take forever to go away.
The reader did an ok job with what she had to work with, the characters, scene, and entire story was boring to the point of nausea. Speaking of points, there wasn't one.

So negative it was hard to listen to

The combination of the negative narration with the negative writing was too much to bear! I couldn't even finish part one. On top of the negative experiences the author encountered in WA, she also went on an on with her own self-hateful comments. Too much. Maybe if she'd lightened the mood with something positive every now and then it would have been tolerable.

Poorly written overall.

No depth in the story or characters. What is supposed to be a humorous approach to story telling, is really a book full of run on sentences and way too many metaphors stopping any momentum the book might have had. I only completed the book because I had to for book club. It was torture.

Narrator is good.

Painful

This book was so painful to listen to that I couldn't finish it. The main character is full of overly descriptive vitriol that fills up the majority of the book. Actual interaction between characters is sparse and instead the reader is subjected to a run on commentary about the flaws of all the characters, from the POV of the main character. Maybe it gets better later but I won't find out. If I could return this book, I would.

There's a slight chance I might be going to hell

This was a very silly story with extremely unbelieveable characters and situations. I found myself groaning with each of the more ridiculous situations she got into. This was really a waste of time.

Incredibly painful.

I can't believe the good reviews on this book. Not funny at all, and although the narrator seemed fine, she was not a good match for this book.
I tried. I listened to the first hour thinking it might be "okay," but I had to force myself to listen to the second hour after which point I thankfully gave it up.

Don't think I'll make it to the end of this one

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Several hours in and still waiting for the story to begin. The narrator is so wrong for this book. Amanda Ronconi could possibly have made this book a more enjoyble listen. I've just listened to 9 Molly Harper books in a row so maybe I've been spoiled for anything else...

How could the performance have been better?

A more lively narrator.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappontment