Chandi Horowitz is being asked to make history all over again. She did it ten years ago, when her profile piece on hunky Hollywood heartthrob Gabe Parker cemented him as the next James Bond. Before her interview, he’d been thought of as a lightweight, not smart enough, and too American to take on the role. His costar Oliver Matthias would have been a much better choice, being British, smarter, and more poised. But Gabe had been the first choice of the director, and he agreed to take on the role. Chandi had been brought in to help upgrade his image against all the bad press he’d been getting.
And it worked.
The article not only made Gabe into the Bond that fans deserved, but it made Chandi’s career. She became a frequent interviewer of young actors, and she’s even written a book of essays that includes some of her profile pieces, including the interview with Gabe Parker. But despite the popularity of the article, despite the three days they spent time together that gave her the material, there is one question that everyone has for Chandi when they talk about that article: did you sleep with Gabe Parker?
Now it’s ten years later, and Chandi’s and Gabe’s people want them to get together again for another article. Gabe is divorced from the beautiful actress he ran off with right after Chandi’s article had come out. And he’s out of rehab for the second time and wanting to talk about his new film, a remake of The Philadelphia Story. Chandi is recently back in L.A. after getting married to the novelist she met in grad school in Iowa and moving to New York with him. They’re both at a place of starting over, so this second article could make both their careers again.
Or it could mean something else altogether.
For that first article, Chandi wrote the article that they needed for their careers, but there was more that happened during those three days than what made it into the profile. There were things left unsaid, feelings left unresolved, and despite all the speculation, Chandi did not sleep with Gabe that first weekend.
But if they meet up again, ten years older and wiser, both divorced, both wanting to pivot in their careers, there is no telling how their story might end.
Funny You Should Ask is a delightful romantic comedy about finding connections in unexpected places. It’s about our obsession with Hollywood, with the fame and the misfortune of the actors we love, and about the snobbery of certain aspects of the literary world. It’s about friendship and family, and about trusting someone else with your most vulnerable places. This is YA author Elissa Sussman’s debut adult novel, and personally I thought she nailed it.
The book is written day by day, so after a short introduction to the story in general, you get Chandi’s article, and then it’s Friday. First we see what happened on Friday ten year ago, and then we see what happened Friday now. Then it’s Saturday, with the same format, and then Sunday. Throughout there are more articles and excerpts—reviews of Gabe’s movies, gossip pieces about his marriage, blog posts from Chandi—so you can bits and pieces of the ten years between their weekends and get a feel for the characters, their careers, and their personal lives. And I really loved this format.
I have some attention issues. I like to read electronically, and I tend to keep a close eye on the percentage of the book I’m reading. While I was reading Funny You Should Ask, I couldn’t take my eyes off the page. I would just let myself get lost in the story, and suddenly that percentage would just jump way ahead of where it had been. I needed something this weekend that would be escapist, and this was exactly the book I needed for that. It will be amazing beach or pool reading, but it would also be perfect for weekend couch reading if you like that sort of thing (which I do).
Egalleys for Funny You Should Ask were provided by Random House Publishing Group—Ballentine through NetGalley, with many thanks.
