Review 
there’s a (slight) chance i might be going to hell: a novel of sewer pipes, pageant queens, and big trouble by LAURIE NOTARO
[Villard Books, Random House 2007, 302 pages]
(the cover doesn’t capitalize – am I supposed to anyway?)
After reading about humans being treated inhumanely, I needed some humor. I found this Notaro book at my nursing home library* and brought it home. I’m now loaning it to my neighbor.
The story: Maye and her husband move away from friends and the big city of Phoenix to a small college town in Oregon. Culture clash and mayhem ensue.
Maye really, really wants to make some friends. She has no kids so that lead-in to meeting other similar women is not an option. She has nothing in common with her neighbors (actually NOT true and I was a bit disappointed with her on this regard…) She tries to join a book club – but that just doesn’t quite work out. She gathers courage to strike up conversations with strangers and unfortunately, more embarrassing things happen. Forget making friends with any of the wives of her husband’s new coworkers after making a fool of herself at the first mixer with that group.
So, what does she do? She finds a sponsor for her entry to be the Town Sewer Pipe Queen, of course!!! This was my favorite part; her sponsor Ruby, the Queen of Queens from 50 years ago is my favorite character.
Three stars. 
A perfect distraction and good option for me to mix-it-up in my reading choices.
I actually could relate to Maye since I, too, have moved to a small town in a different ‘culture’ (Kansas City to Southeast Mass IS a culture shock, believe it or not.) It IS hard to make new friends AND I still want to join a book club… Thankfully, I have no silly pageants to enter…
Does your town have a beauty pageant?
hfasdf;lksdj
* The library at the nursing home has been unofficially recognized as the largest collection of large print books in Southeast Massachusetts! And I am the unofficial librarian. So fun, really! I love it.
** OH! I almost titled this post From Sewers to Sewers because the last book I read was about people who SEW and then this book references a factory were sewer pipes are manufactured. Get it? sewer and sewer? same spelling, different meaning, different pronunciation. I know, I’m a weird word geek…
Recent Comments