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raehillzreads's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up.
I wanted to love this one, but was underwhelming... Until I got to the ending which improved my opinion of the book as a whole.
I wanted to love this one, but was underwhelming... Until I got to the ending which improved my opinion of the book as a whole.
lisarogo's review against another edition
2.0
I mean it was good but also, wtf? I turned to this book because I missed The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, but what the heck. The premise of women comedians being able to give a woman audience orgasms from the comedy, from the jokes… that was something else. And it took away from the potential impact of the story (to me).
Yeah there were storylines that gave a book important nuance, specifically the brother returning from war with PTSD, racism, antisemitism, and a sexual assault storyline.
But I really felt like what could have been a powerful story about women power through the years, with notes on those storylines, was definitely ruined by this “showstopper” (aka women getting an orgasm from a funny joke) concept.
Yeah there were storylines that gave a book important nuance, specifically the brother returning from war with PTSD, racism, antisemitism, and a sexual assault storyline.
But I really felt like what could have been a powerful story about women power through the years, with notes on those storylines, was definitely ruined by this “showstopper” (aka women getting an orgasm from a funny joke) concept.
montigneyrules's review against another edition
1.0
#readingchallenge2022 (my extra books!)
Where were the jokes?
Incredibly misbranded as a parallel to the wonderful tv show Marvelous Miss Maisel this novel shares nothing even remotely similar to the depth, character strength.
The novel attempted to cover important topics, including the roles of women, PTSD, sexual assault, and power of friendships, but if I wasn’t just bored, I was lost- I even stopped at one point to check is this was meant to be literal ‘magic’ or was this just poorly written euphemisms.
I believe the intent of the novel was to promote women- an aspect of feminism, in which the author takes something taboo for women- i.e women comedians in a 1950’s world staged by men-and writes “we can do it too!”. Great premise, bring on the jokes- except the novel was anything but funny- I actually finished feeling like the novel set women back.
The author’s approach towards, “we can do it too!” was to say women can not only be funny but so funny they actually cause comedy orgasms…but only for other women. Like it’s some secret punchline joke. The annoying, “I want to sneak out to go feel a showstopper” -it felt so cheesy in a negative way.
Why couldn’t women just be up on stage, be funny, everyone (men/women) enjoying jokes- the author left everything hush hush women for women small world, chaotic characters, lack of development-
Where were the jokes?
Incredibly misbranded as a parallel to the wonderful tv show Marvelous Miss Maisel this novel shares nothing even remotely similar to the depth, character strength.
The novel attempted to cover important topics, including the roles of women, PTSD, sexual assault, and power of friendships, but if I wasn’t just bored, I was lost- I even stopped at one point to check is this was meant to be literal ‘magic’ or was this just poorly written euphemisms.
I believe the intent of the novel was to promote women- an aspect of feminism, in which the author takes something taboo for women- i.e women comedians in a 1950’s world staged by men-and writes “we can do it too!”. Great premise, bring on the jokes- except the novel was anything but funny- I actually finished feeling like the novel set women back.
The author’s approach towards, “we can do it too!” was to say women can not only be funny but so funny they actually cause comedy orgasms…but only for other women. Like it’s some secret punchline joke. The annoying, “I want to sneak out to go feel a showstopper” -it felt so cheesy in a negative way.
Why couldn’t women just be up on stage, be funny, everyone (men/women) enjoying jokes- the author left everything hush hush women for women small world, chaotic characters, lack of development-
thatgirlearlreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
General fiction isn't my usual read but this was a suggestion from my librarian.
It reminded me of watching the movie 'Joy' (2015). A rather uneventful story but intriguing and something nice to put on in the background. The mundane with a hint of drama and mysticism.
I don't have many words for it. I enjoyed Franny and her journey tonfigure out who she is.
The topics brought up in this were interesting, but some aspects came off just shallow enough that they could have been left out.
It reminded me of watching the movie 'Joy' (2015). A rather uneventful story but intriguing and something nice to put on in the background. The mundane with a hint of drama and mysticism.
I don't have many words for it. I enjoyed Franny and her journey tonfigure out who she is.
The topics brought up in this were interesting, but some aspects came off just shallow enough that they could have been left out.
lisawreading's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
In When Franny Stands Up, women’s comedy clubs are struggling to survive in the 1950s, after male comedians become popular on TV and grab all the attention. But women know a secret: in the live stand-up shows for women only, certain talented comedians have Showstoppers — moments of magic where the performer induces certain special effects on the women in the audience as they laugh.
For Franny, she first encounters a Showstopper years earlier, sneaking away from her protective parents’ home in a Chicago suburb to see the famous Boopsie Baxter perform. But Franny is not at all prepared for her powerful reaction to Boopsie’s Showstopper, and runs back home in shame and fear, only to discover that her soldier brother has gone missing in action in Europe. For Franny, these two events become very much linked, and she determines to be good and give up her interest in comedy forever.
But as the main part of the story opens, 23-year-old Franny is burdened by her daily life, her worries over her brother, now home but suffering from PTSD, and her alienation from her former best friend, who’s about to get married, and whose family is responsible for one of Franny’s worst memories. When events at the wedding go badly, Franny runs off yet again, and finds herself at the Blue Moon club, where a whole new world awaits.
Sadly, so much of this story simply didn’t make sense to me. Franny’s interest in comedy, especially in becoming a stand-up comedian, seems to come out of nowhere, and isn’t well explained. And why the club owner and other performers take an interest in Franny or immediately sense her potential talent — well, I have no idea.
There are many interesting concepts scattered throughout the story, but whether it’s the writing itself or the approach to the plot, it never particularly gelled for me. I found the writing style choppy, with descriptions and plot actions not quite making sense to me. As new occurrences and situations popped up, I often felt like I must have accidentally skipped some pages — just how did we get from point A to point B? Some characters as well just never made sense — I can think of one in particular who, by the end of the story, I still didn’t know if she was supposed to be sympathetic or an antagonist, and that definitely did not seem like an intentional construction of a morally gray characters. Instead, it was just another example of a writing approach that didn’t work for me.
The idea of the Showstopper concept is pretty cool, absolutely — but the plot, inconsistent character depictions, dropped or under-developed storylines, and unclear character motivation all got in the way of my enjoyment of When Franny Stands Up. There are some interesting ideas here, but sadly, the book as a whole just didn’t work for me.
In When Franny Stands Up, women’s comedy clubs are struggling to survive in the 1950s, after male comedians become popular on TV and grab all the attention. But women know a secret: in the live stand-up shows for women only, certain talented comedians have Showstoppers — moments of magic where the performer induces certain special effects on the women in the audience as they laugh.
For Franny, she first encounters a Showstopper years earlier, sneaking away from her protective parents’ home in a Chicago suburb to see the famous Boopsie Baxter perform. But Franny is not at all prepared for her powerful reaction to Boopsie’s Showstopper, and runs back home in shame and fear, only to discover that her soldier brother has gone missing in action in Europe. For Franny, these two events become very much linked, and she determines to be good and give up her interest in comedy forever.
But as the main part of the story opens, 23-year-old Franny is burdened by her daily life, her worries over her brother, now home but suffering from PTSD, and her alienation from her former best friend, who’s about to get married, and whose family is responsible for one of Franny’s worst memories. When events at the wedding go badly, Franny runs off yet again, and finds herself at the Blue Moon club, where a whole new world awaits.
Sadly, so much of this story simply didn’t make sense to me. Franny’s interest in comedy, especially in becoming a stand-up comedian, seems to come out of nowhere, and isn’t well explained. And why the club owner and other performers take an interest in Franny or immediately sense her potential talent — well, I have no idea.
There are many interesting concepts scattered throughout the story, but whether it’s the writing itself or the approach to the plot, it never particularly gelled for me. I found the writing style choppy, with descriptions and plot actions not quite making sense to me. As new occurrences and situations popped up, I often felt like I must have accidentally skipped some pages — just how did we get from point A to point B? Some characters as well just never made sense — I can think of one in particular who, by the end of the story, I still didn’t know if she was supposed to be sympathetic or an antagonist, and that definitely did not seem like an intentional construction of a morally gray characters. Instead, it was just another example of a writing approach that didn’t work for me.
The idea of the Showstopper concept is pretty cool, absolutely — but the plot, inconsistent character depictions, dropped or under-developed storylines, and unclear character motivation all got in the way of my enjoyment of When Franny Stands Up. There are some interesting ideas here, but sadly, the book as a whole just didn’t work for me.
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up.
This was a really interesting historical fiction story about being a young woman in post-WWII Chicago who finds power in making people laugh. Franny has a transporting experience one Christmas Eve at a comedy club but that night also changes her family when they get news of her brother overseas.
I picked this one up for the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel similarities and was a little surprised by the magical realism aspect - something I wasn't expecting but did enjoy. I also really liked how Franny finds a community of like-minded women who have formed a sort of community of social outcasts, or women not willing to conform to societal expectations.
Good on audio and definitely one I would recommend. It won't be for everyone and did drag in places but overall I liked this one. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
CW: rape, war related PTSD
This was a really interesting historical fiction story about being a young woman in post-WWII Chicago who finds power in making people laugh. Franny has a transporting experience one Christmas Eve at a comedy club but that night also changes her family when they get news of her brother overseas.
I picked this one up for the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel similarities and was a little surprised by the magical realism aspect - something I wasn't expecting but did enjoy. I also really liked how Franny finds a community of like-minded women who have formed a sort of community of social outcasts, or women not willing to conform to societal expectations.
Good on audio and definitely one I would recommend. It won't be for everyone and did drag in places but overall I liked this one. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
CW: rape, war related PTSD
lizaroo71's review against another edition
2.0
Franny Steinberg wants to be a comedian. More importantly, she strives to get a "showstopper" - when a crowd laughs raucously this occurs (it can present itself in different ways for each comedian - the innocous feeling of having a bus arrive at the stop to just the right place or the extreme can be an orgasm).
Set in Chicago post WWII, it all feels like a lot. We have the undertone of antisemitism happening; sexism; racism; queer community; PTS - everything and the kitchen sink!
I sometimes didn't understand the scenes I was reading. I felt like the dialogue didn't fit the scene. It felt like I could see the effort of creating the scenes. I also feel Franny isn't the most likeable protagonist. She feels like she wants to be strong yet she rarely stands up for herself.
I kept waiting for a big pay off, but it never really arrives. I did speed through the book, but like Franny, I never got the Showstopper!
Set in Chicago post WWII, it all feels like a lot. We have the undertone of antisemitism happening; sexism; racism; queer community; PTS - everything and the kitchen sink!
I sometimes didn't understand the scenes I was reading. I felt like the dialogue didn't fit the scene. It felt like I could see the effort of creating the scenes. I also feel Franny isn't the most likeable protagonist. She feels like she wants to be strong yet she rarely stands up for herself.
I kept waiting for a big pay off, but it never really arrives. I did speed through the book, but like Franny, I never got the Showstopper!
spauffwrites's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book at the library because it seemed like a novelization of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but it’s more complicated and grittier than that. In Franny’s world of stand-up comedy, there are Showstoppers — jokes that make you feel safe, happy, loved and in some cases, orgasmic. But only women are capable of feeling them. Franny wants to be a comic, but she’s got no Showstopper…or so she thinks. In Franny’s quest to write a Showstopping joke, she struggles to understand her brother’s PTSD from the war and the racism in her neighborhood, while also dealing with her own painful memories of sexual assault. There’s a lot going on in this book — possibly too much. It moves very quickly and at times feels all over the place, but like a good comedy routine, the punchlines hit at the end. Laughter is the best medicine, but often, you gotta laugh at yourself first to move toward healing.