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I'll Take You There (2016)

by Wally Lamb

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
4092062,291 (3.2)10
"New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb weaves an evocative, deeply affecting tapestry of one Baby Boomer's life--Felix Funicello, introduced in Wishin' and Hopin'--and the trio of unforgettable women who have changed it, in this radiant homage to the resiliency, strength, and power of women. I'll Take You There centers on Felix, a film scholar who runs a Monday night movie club in what was once a vaudeville theater. One evening, while setting up a film in the projectionist booth, he's confronted by the ghost of Lois Weber, a trailblazing motion picture director from Hollywood's silent film era. Lois invites Felix to revisit--and in some cases relive--scenes from his past as they are projected onto the cinema's big screen. In these magical movies, the medium of film becomes the lens for Felix to reflect on the women who profoundly impacted his life. There's his daughter Aliza, a Gen Y writer for New York Magazine who is trying to align her post-modern feminist beliefs with her lofty career ambitions; his sister, Frances, with whom he once shared a complicated bond of kindness and cruelty; and Verna, a fiery would-be contender for the 1951 Miss Rheingold competition, a beauty contest sponsored by a Brooklyn-based beer manufacturer that became a marketing phenomenon for two decades. At first unnerved by these ethereal apparitions, Felix comes to look forward to his encounters with Lois, who is later joined by the spirits of other celluloid muses. Against the backdrop of a kaleidoscopic convergence of politics and pop culture, family secrets, and Hollywood iconography, Felix gains an enlightened understanding of the pressures and trials of the women closest to him, and of the feminine ideals and feminist realities that all women, of every era, must face"-- "From the New York Times bestselling author of WISHIN' AND HOPIN', a remarkably evocative, deeply affecting tapestry of one Baby Boomer's life--and the women who have changed it--in the American Century"--… (more)
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» See also 10 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 20 (next | show all)
My first Wally Lamb book! I enjoyed his conversational tone of Felix Funicello and found it very easy to sink into the story, like a lovely warm bath after a long day. Felix's feminist views surprised me a little, but I appreciated his voice. I liked the shades of the past coming to see him and the part film played throughout the story. I love movies, believing they are like visual books brought to life, and have been teased for getting wrapped up in them, the characters and story. Books are always better, but I love the experience of movies. I am looking forward to reading other books by Wally Lamb. ( )
  BarbF410 | May 22, 2022 |
Not for me. No plot and underwhelming characters. ( )
  sparemethecensor | May 9, 2022 |
The audiobook definitely made a difference, it was narrated by the great George Guidall.

I love Wally's author voice, I love him as a human but the stories he tells don't always match my reading style. :/ This is all characters, characters, characters.

The MC from Wishin' and Hopin' is in his 60s now. We get a long trip down his memory lane. We get a lot of history of the Rheingold Girls which Wally is obviously a historian of. And we get flashbacks to the MC as a young boy. (which means much of the story is told from a young person's POV *yawn*) The flashbacks are delivered in an odd way. The MC works at/volunteers at an old theater and he is visited by some ghosts of women of importance in cinematic history. Oh yeah we get too much history about them also. They were a significant part of cinematic history all but forgotten by most. Even me, even though Wally just gave me a lesson. So the ghosts give the MC a "this is your life" experience. So we spent a lot of time getting history lessons and learning the fictional life of our MC which really wasn't that exciting for a fictional story. Sorry 2.5* and I can't really recommend.
--------------------------

Great interview with author & narrator https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoufY9apfZA
Other great videos on author page http://www.wallylamb.net/video/ ( )
  Corinne2020 | Aug 22, 2021 |
Wally Lamb is one of our best. This book, however, seemed like he was searching for a plot and never quite found it. That said, I'll be first in line for his next one. ( )
  ChristieJames | Apr 16, 2021 |
This is the first Wally Lamb book I've read. It will not be the last! ( )
  dandailey | Nov 8, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 20 (next | show all)
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Wally Lambprimary authorall editionscalculated
Guidall, GeorgeNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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For feminists everywhere, of every era
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I turned sixty earlier this year, an age that brings deficits, of course: creaky knees, a temporary inability to remember familiar people's names, and a second colonoscopy.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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"New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb weaves an evocative, deeply affecting tapestry of one Baby Boomer's life--Felix Funicello, introduced in Wishin' and Hopin'--and the trio of unforgettable women who have changed it, in this radiant homage to the resiliency, strength, and power of women. I'll Take You There centers on Felix, a film scholar who runs a Monday night movie club in what was once a vaudeville theater. One evening, while setting up a film in the projectionist booth, he's confronted by the ghost of Lois Weber, a trailblazing motion picture director from Hollywood's silent film era. Lois invites Felix to revisit--and in some cases relive--scenes from his past as they are projected onto the cinema's big screen. In these magical movies, the medium of film becomes the lens for Felix to reflect on the women who profoundly impacted his life. There's his daughter Aliza, a Gen Y writer for New York Magazine who is trying to align her post-modern feminist beliefs with her lofty career ambitions; his sister, Frances, with whom he once shared a complicated bond of kindness and cruelty; and Verna, a fiery would-be contender for the 1951 Miss Rheingold competition, a beauty contest sponsored by a Brooklyn-based beer manufacturer that became a marketing phenomenon for two decades. At first unnerved by these ethereal apparitions, Felix comes to look forward to his encounters with Lois, who is later joined by the spirits of other celluloid muses. Against the backdrop of a kaleidoscopic convergence of politics and pop culture, family secrets, and Hollywood iconography, Felix gains an enlightened understanding of the pressures and trials of the women closest to him, and of the feminine ideals and feminist realities that all women, of every era, must face"-- "From the New York Times bestselling author of WISHIN' AND HOPIN', a remarkably evocative, deeply affecting tapestry of one Baby Boomer's life--and the women who have changed it--in the American Century"--

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