There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell

By: Laurie Notaro

I think I have a love-hate relationship with this book.

It's hilarious. I laughed all the way through. Laurie Notaro is clever, witty, and great with metaphors. Her writing style is definitely unique, and I will absolutely read more of her books.

But at the same time, I feel like the last 100 pages were very rushed, like she wasn't sure where she was going with the story. It was as if she got stuck and couldn't find her way out. I was confused by the end, where she leaves a remaining mystery that never even comes close to being solved.

The story revolves around Maye, who moves with her husband Charlie to a fictional town in Washington comprised of uber-liberal, socially picky vegetarian hippies who are pretty much impossible to befriend. As Maye continually fails to make a decent friend who can compare with the ones she had in her home in Phoenix, she decides to enter the Sewer Pipe Queen Pageant, a quirky "beauty pageant" type event open to contestants of all ages and genders. Along the way she starts learning about mysterious events of the town's past and puts some puzzle pieces together about all of it that no one else has ever noticed before.

The novel has a good balance of funny moments, intense moments, and sad moments (although for the most part I just giggled the whole time). Laurie Notaro also does an outstanding job with her characterization...this is the first novel I've read in a long time where the characters really came to life and all appeared to be truly unique within the whole story. I was amazed by how wonderfully she accomplished this.

Again, I was personally a little disappointed with the ending--it just doesn't feel 100% complete--but it isn't something so horrible I couldn't read the book again and enjoy it. Overall, I think it's a novel worthy of reading.