By: Elissa Sussman
This was so, so close to being a perfect book for me. I really loved it. Gabe Parker has been cast as the new James Bond, and is promoting the film. This was a controversial casting choice because not only is Gabe an American, he also has a reputation in Hollywood as a dimwitted himbo. He does have a devoted following as a handsome actor, but the move to leading man in a James Bond film is a huge advancement for his career. He really needs some good press to help this movie become a success. Enter Chani Horowitz. Chani is a writer for the artsy magazine Broad Sheets and she has been hired to have unprecedented access to Gabe for an in-depth interview. Chani has a graduate degree in creative writing, but has not found much success with her craft. She is still hustling for writing jobs, and is smarting from a recent breakup with her writer boyfriend, who always looked down on her writing style. Gabe and Chani spend a memorable weekend together, and it charts the course for the next ten years of their life.
The book’s structure flipped between “then” and “now” scenes, but also sprinkled in blog posts, reviews and of course, the finished article from the interview. I liked how this was all separated by different narratives, and gave the reader information gradually. Ten years later, Chani is a well-respected celebrity interviewer and writer of non-fiction and Gabe is on a comeback tour after a spectacularly drunken breakdown that was caught on camera, and caused him to be released from the rest of his Bond movies contract. He is in a remake of the classic movie, The Philadelphia Story, and his management and Chani’s team hope to rekindle the success of their initial interview. However, only Gabe and Chani know what actually happened that weekend, and there are clearly unresolved feelings and issues.
First, I think it was an important fact that Gabe was sober for two years prior to the characters meeting again. It made it easier to believe Gabe was healthy enough for this relationship, but also that he was not changing just for Chani. Sussman also really nailed Chani’s imposter syndrome with both her writing and her relationship with Gabe. It was an interesting subtle commentary about how we, as the public, feel we have a say in who a celebrity dates or who is good enough for them. I loved Chani’s comment to Gabe about The Philadelphia Story that you can worship someone you don’t know, but you cannot love them. (Sidenote: I have not seen that movie in forever; this book made me want to watch it again, but also there should be a remake!) I can see how that comment would make an impression on Gabe and where he is in his career. It is also true that Gabe, as a man, was going to be easily forgiven for his alcoholic outbursts, while there would be a tendency to assume the worst of the woman, that Chani had slept with Gabe to gain her own notoriety.
I also appreciated that Chani does finally address the fact that these two have really only spent a handful of days in each other’s company. As I was reading, I did become concerned that the two of them had such an intense recollection of their limited time together that I was not sure if this relationship would last, but luckily it was addressed well for me to believe everything was resolved.
My one small nitpick of this book is that I wish Chani had not been such a superfan of Gabe’s prior to their initial meeting. It seemed a little creepy to me that he had been her screensaver just prior to the interview and had been her celebrity “free pass” with her boyfriend, Jeremy (who was TERRIBLE, by the way.) Those small tidbits did make me wonder if she did truly like HIM or his celebrity, but this was a minor issue. Otherwise, I found this book to be fantastic and I would absolutely recommend!
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/funny-you-should-ask-elissa-sussman/1139840696?ean=9780593357323
Or an independent bookstore. Maybe try Joseph-Beth Booksellers, founded in Lexington, Kentucky in 1986. https://www.josephbeth.com/book/9780593357323