Rita Rudner

Rita Rudner is a funny lady. She wrote this in 2008, when my 50's were still a comfortable few years away. I would have laughed just as much if I read it then, but I can definitely relate even more now that I am also a Fiftysomething.

Rudner's style reminds me a bit of Seinfeld - gentle, observational humor that is not crass or mean-spirited. She tells stories specific to her life as a stand-up comic, but also about things most women can relate to: toilet training a toddler; the challenge of show more buying your husband a Christmas present year after year; the indignities of growing older in a society that worships youth; and caring for an aging parent - all entertaining, with many laugh-out-loud moments.

[I am SO glad I happened to spot this on my bookshelf - I devoured it in less than 24 hours, laughing all the way, and thus completed the 60th and final book for my 2019 reading challenge! Now I can stop hate-reading the idiotic Christmas romance that would otherwise have closed out my reading year.] show less

The subtitle, "A Comic Novel," should have been left off the cover. I was expecting a laugh-a-minute romp, which this is not. It's the story of two girls who run away to New York to make a better life for themselves: Mindy the dancer-turned-comedian (more or less Rudner in disguise) and Ursula the ubergorgeous model. There is quite a bit of humor, mainly in the form of one-liners, most of which are likely far funnier on stage than in print. Most of the drama comes from misunderstandings and show more people not talking to each other, which is a pet peeve of mine when it comes to plot devices. The final few chapters felt forced, as if Rudner got stuck and decided she needed a disaster or two in order to wrap things up. It's not a bad book, just not a very good one. I suppose die-hard fans of Rudner's stand-up comedy may enjoy this (and indeed, her routines are pretty funny), but readers unfamiliar with her will probably want to pass this one by. show less

It's a delightfully funny book. It's not so much a biography as a series of short essays reminiscent of her stage performance. It's rare that a book will actually make me laugh out loud, and this one did many times. It comes at a difficult time in my life, and I needed those laughs.

It's a short book and a very quick read. I recommend it to anyone needing to bring back a little humor to their lives.

Like the author, Mindy Solomon leaves Miami to become a dancer in New York and eventually goes into stand-up comedy. I don't know if the real Rita knew people like the rest of the characters in the book - the gorgeous Ursula, her savvy mother Eva, various players in the comedy world and evil Hollywood. I've seen Rudner live, and reading this book is like sitting down with an old friend who has some wild stories to tell.