The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar

The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maggie and Lakshmi are opposites in many ways: Maggie is a professional African American psychologist married to an Americanized Indian man who loves and respects her. Lakshmi is an immigrant Indian woman married to a man who basically treats her like garbage. However, both women are also similar in that they are both haunted and still affected by their past. Umrigar does a nice job braiding these women's stories and lives together until a culminating event unravels their bond and changes their lives. 

My Thoughts:
Despite the fact that the main characters were extremely flawed, I enjoyed the novel. The characters were complexed and damaged and they rattled me in a way that kept me reading even though I often wanted to slap them. I also loved the story within a story aspect of the novel and how it was used to provide complexity, background, story-building and allowed the characters to reflect on their lives and past mistakes. I definitely look forward to reading more of Thrity Umrigar's work.

Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

First off, I want to say that I adore Lauren Graham. She is a talented actor who appears to be genuine in a manner unlike may other actors in Hollywood today. Her debut novel Someday, Someday, Maybe is a fast paced, light and humorous read that many Chick Lit fans will enjoy. The novel's protagonist, Franny Banks, is a likable character who is on a quest to create a life for herself as a theater actress in New York. Our heroine is brave, smart, witty, reflective, and just plain good. 

However, like many heroes she loses sight of her prize and veers off course and into the land of dating the wrong guy and making decisions that pull her away from her true path. As with any quest, Franny has her helpers and guides, Jan and Dan, her two roommates who support her as she navigates the rough waters of life. What stands out most is that Franny never loses that inner voice of reason, she outright ignores it and thus must suffer the consequences. Fans of Graham who enjoy her witty, fast-talking characters in Parenthood and Gilmore Girls will find plenty of character similarities and quirks and enjoy lots of laughs with Franny.

My Thoughts: 
I listened to the audio version of this book which was perfect because the book is read by Graham. I love how well she carries out the fast-talking and witty Franny. I also enjoyed listening to Franny's head ramblings: "should I do this, or that, or maybe, even that. Oh, no, maybe I should have done this." Graham just does neurotic characters so well. 

The book is a typical Chick Lit novel: there is a bad boy, good boy, dreams of true love, a goal in mind, decisions to be made that go terribly and humorously wrong and thus must be corrected, the heroine learns something about life or herself and rises anew.  Graham follows the formula beautifully. I found myself rooting for Franny and wanting for her to succeed.  If you are looking for a lite and entertaining read, especially during the busy holiday seasons coming up, this is a good choice.  Read-a-likes: Bridget Jones series.