Hard Laughter

By: Anne Lamott

Narrated by: Karissa Vacker

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."

It was like listening to a friend.

We all are constantly having a daily struggle wading through life, and think that it’s not interesting or that nobody would care. Hearing about this life made me feel less lonely.

I found the book a little slow, and will not be rushing to the next one. But I am hoping that it picks up where it left off and I can continue on later reading about this wonderful little life.

Disjointed and not humorous. No laughter here.

What bothered me most about this book is the close friendship between a 23 year old immature adult and a 10 year old child. Sexual comments in the presence of this child were inapproriate. An example is the child jesters a sex act with her hands by by poking one finger through circled fingers on her other hand. The story line was poorly written . This book reads like a disjointed stand up comedy routine. The stories about neighbors and people in town were brief and made no point. The author jumps from one person to another.