“Someday This Will Be Funny” is an eclectic book by Lynne Tillman, author of “No Lease On Life.” “Someday …,” a collection of short fiction stories, are intertwined in the imaginative and haphazard mind of Tillman. But, of course, that is said with admiration.
The structure of the stories may seem off with wandering characters seemingly flipping from one thought to the next. However, that subtle action is what captivates readers in the reality of how people think — not prepared, but muddled.
“Playing Hurt” is one of the best stories in the book. One could not help but think how reminiscent the relationship between Abigail and Nathaniel are to the characters George and Martha from Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” There is a tension between the characters, and that is delayed until the end of the story, similarly to Albee’s play.
There are stories in the book that are provocative and take no time to tease. For instance, the story “More Sex,” was still somewhat surprising even considering the bawdy title. Without filter, Tillman creates an everyday female character discussing with ease, the many escapades she dreams up in order to counter the harsh reality of her solitude.
Tillman writes in very casual manner, an aspect that not only makes the stories easy to follow, but also entertaining to read. While some of the stories may come across as unfinished thoughts, others take essay and soliloquy form.
One of the funniest stories, which admittedly created an inner laugh, was from “But There’s A Family Resemblance.” Readers are introduced to the character, Great Uncle Charley, “who didn’t know, until he was eighteen and married Margaret, that women went to the bathroom.” In the story, Tillman captures an absurdist type of writing comparable to certain authors but at the same time, all her own.
As one might gather, in progressing through the stories, the characters and plots are not always as laughable as the title suggests. In actuality, reading many of the stories offered a sense of loneliness for the characters rather than optimism.
In “Save Me from the Pious and the Vengeful,” Tillman writes, “Out of nothing comes language and out of language comes nothing and everything. I know there will be stories. Certainly, there will always be stories.” Much of Tillman’s writing comes across like this — circular and sometimes theoretical. But, more importantly, the story offers hope that Tillman will continue to write.
“Someday This Will Be Funny” is not a book written for the sole purpose of making the reader laugh. Rather, the book solicits moments where the reader realizes that as ridiculous as some of the thoughts are, much of them have already come across their mind.
Rating: W W W 1/2
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