Funny You Should Ask This Review

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

#Jewish #RomCom #NewAdult #Contemporary

CW: Breach of Journalist Integrity, Off-Page Deaths, Impostor Syndrome, Homophobia, Sexual Harassment, Alcoholism, Drinking, Mentions of Drugs, Woody Allen, Sexism, Jealousy, Toxic Relationships, Opression, Mentions of Antisemitism, Sexual Content, Gaslighting, Swearing, Grief, Loss of Autonomy, Xenophobia, Classism, Vomit

4.5/5

Every once in a while I will get into a book-adding session for my Libby wishlist. When this happens I will add a bunch of related books and then likely forget about them for a long time. A few days ago I was looking for a book that wouldn't be TOO long from my list. I knew that I had a Hannukka book coming soon and I didn't want to be held up when it came in. I mean, it's already Hannukka time! Got to get in the spirit! Turns out this book, Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman, was from one of my Jewish book-adding sessions! I love a surprise Jewish story, even if I apparently knew at some point. When I realized what this book entailed, I also recommended it to my mom for our mini book club. She said yes! I'm glad she did because this book was delightful! 

Chani* Horowitz is a well-known journalist/essay writer, having gotten her fame from a unique celebrity profile a decade prior. Gabe Parker is best known for having been the most recent James Bond. He's American, so many people didn't want him for the role, but Chani's article changed her mind. She spent a weekend following him around, getting close to Gabe in unexpected ways. When that weekend came to an end, they were forever tied because of the article -- except 10 years passed without them turning their spark into a flame. Now Chani is being asked to try and recreate the weekend. A lot has happened in those 10 years: ups and downs. So what could happen now?

Funny You Should Ask is mostly told in narrative chapters, but it also incorporates articles, interviews, and book reviews. I love when books play around with structure. The story is from Chani's point of view, but we get a sense of other people's view of these characters through what they've written. It helps with lore and world-building as well. Time is also played with in this book. The two weekends and some significant moments in between are woven together in a cinematic-like tale. Sussman is clearly very genre-aware. It's an LA romcom between an actor and a journalist. Each of these elements seem to inform the style of the novel. I will say that it felt a little light, or at least could have benefited from Gabe's point of view. His long-term desire for Chani felt unrealistic, but we didn't get his thoughts, and fairytale love is a staple of rom-coms.

One of the things that endeared Gabe to me ties into the Jewish rep of the book. He gets the pronunciation of Chani's name right on the first try. It's a common thing us Jews commiserate about, having goys mispronounce the "ch" sound. It's not actively a Jewish holiday during any part of the story and Chani clearly doesn't regularly celebrate Shabbat, so most of the representation is cultural/experience based. One of my favorite lines is below, a highly relatable line from Chani's observations.

"He looked down at the menu with the childish glee of a kid on the night of Hannukka when you actually got real gifts, not socks or chocolate gelt."

Although, I do love socks as gifts now that I'm an adult. Token Judaism is also discussed by Chani, specifically how she is used to being the only Jew, even where it might be unexpected. Additionally, the book references how some of the best-known Jews in Hollywood aren't helping with positive representation, especially Woody Allen. If you don't know what I'm talking about, that might be for the best. All in all, it was just nice to have some Jewishness sprinkled into a cute book that I was already planning to read.

I mentioned earlier that some of what Sussman has written feels unrealistic and fairytale-like. She did, however, balance this out with some important heavy topics. This is by no means a dark book, though. It handles the topics with care and shows the audience what support looks like. Gabe is struggling with alcoholism, he and Chani both go through divorces, they both struggle with impostor syndrome, Chani faces a lot of sexism, and Gabe's best friend is actively oppressed for being gay. Other topics include cheating, death, and classism. Rehab and Gabe's best friend help the characters get through some of these things. The audience will discover the importance of a support system and more when they read. 

If you love romantic comedies, you'll definitely enjoy Elissa Sussman's Funny You Should Ask. You'll feel like you're reading a movie and get the bonus of all the cultural and mental health rep that Sussman wrote in. She even seems to have come up with a really fun party game you might want to try. Look out for Running Pyramid as you read! Enjoy your years with Chani and Gabe.

*The "Ch" in Chani is pronounced like you are coughing something up