Romantic Comedy #BookReview
Book: Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, read by Kristen Sieh
Genre: Novel
Publisher: Random House Audio
Publication date: 2023
Source: E-audiobook borrowed from the library
Summary: The first half of Romantic Comedy is set during one week of production of The Night Owls, a fictional version of Saturday Night Live. The well-oiled machine contains many moving parts that have to mesh at just the right moment on Saturday night for a live show. A new and somewhat unpredictable part of that machine is added each week — the host.
Romantic Comedy portrays this production week from the point of view of an experienced writer for The Night Owls, Sally Milz. The host for this week is Noah Brewster. Since Noah is a pop star, he is also the musical guest — a rare, but not unique, element for The Night Owls to manage.
Sally initially assumes that Noah matches his image — blond, good-looking, and vapid. When he enters her office with an idea for a comedy sketch of his own, she discovers that he is creative, funny, and a pleasure to work with.
Thoughts: If you’re reading Romantic Comedy to enjoy a behind-the-scenes story related to Saturday Night Live, you could stop at the midpoint and experience a satisfying narrative. If you have an ounce of romance in your bones, however, you’ll want to keep reading to see what happens with Sally and Noah in the second half of the book.
Since we got such an in-depth look at the production of a TV show, Romantic Comedy reminded me of the Winner Bakes All series, set in a fictional Great British Baking Show.
If you’re as fascinated by pandemic novels as I am, the second half of Romantic Comedy is set in the summer of 2020. That makes Romantic Comedy the fourth pandemic novel I’ve read and, by far, the funniest. The humor is balanced with the uncertainty and fear that we all remember.
I loved Sally’s wryly humorous narrative voice. The reader, Kristen Sieh, brings that out perfectly in the audiobook.
Appeal: You’ll enjoy Romantic Comedy if you’ve ever been a fan of Saturday Night Live. Since Romantic Comedy is not structured in the manner of a romance novel, I think that people who hate romance might love this book, anyway. If you can’t stand a hint of romance, this book won’t work but if a love story in the midst of other plot elements works for you, give Romantic Comedy a try.
Have you read this book? What did you think?