Franny Banks is a struggling actress in New York City, with just six months left of the three year deadline she gave herself to succeed. But so far, all she has to show for her efforts is a single line in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters and a degrading waitressing job. She lives in Brooklyn with two roommates-Jane, her best friend from college, and Dan, a sci-fi writer, who is very definitely not boyfriend material-and is struggling with her feelings for a suspiciously charming guy in her acting class, all while trying to find a hair-product cocktail that actually works.
... It's hard to tell if she'll run out of time or money first, but either way, failure would mean facing the fact that she has absolutely no skills to make it in the real world...
I saw Gilmore Girls for the first time over the winter and enjoyed the show, especially Lauren Graham's performance, so when I saw that she had authored Someday, Someday, Maybe, I knew it had to be on my Christmas List (thank you, Gommie!).
The coming-of-age story of Franny Banks accurately depicts the anxiety, self-doubt, and wonderment of transitioning into adulthood and discovering yourself. Franny faces embarrassment, naive choices, and denial, all with the good hanging right in front of her eyes. It's a frustrating, comical experience that reminds you to step back and examine life, then trust your gut and leap forward with your dreams.
The author created an excellent character to represent common struggles women face, both personally and in the work place. I often cringed for or laughed with Franny Banks, but at the same time I will say she wasn't developed enough to the point where I felt a connection. I'm assuming this is a slightly autobiographical novel, and I wish Miss Graham had put a little more of herself into the character.
The story had it's flaws. Honestly, I had a hard time getting into the book, forgetting it for long periods of time on my bookshelf before picking it up again. It wasn't until Chapter 14 that things started happening and I began to have interest, but still I was just coasting through it. The ending wrapped up abruptly, and I was left saying, "That's it?" and back on my bookshelf it went.
Graham certainly has potential as a writer and I would read another book by her with the hopes that she had cleaned up some of her prose and developed characters. This book falls flat, but it still had an entertaining protagonist and comical moments that had me laughing out loud. ( And the book cover is one of my all-time favorites ;) )
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
(I will give a heads up that this book contains some language and sexual innuendo/situations)
Have you read the book? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments!
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