Funny Girl

by Nick Hornby

Set in 1960's London, Funny Girl is a lively account of the adventures of the intrepid young Sophie Straw as she navigates her transformation from provincial ingénue to television starlet amid a constellation of delightful characters. Insightful and humorous, Nick Hornby's latest does what he does best: endears us to a cast of characters who are funny if flawed, and forces us to examine ourselves in the process.

~ Goodreads

My review.........3 stars

I enjoyed this story of the life of an actress in the making. Growing up with the I Love Lucy show probably contributed to my understanding of young Barbara and her quest to be the next Lucy. I liked the inside look that the reader was given to the television industry. While clearly Barbara (Sophie) was a favorite character, the others were fairly well developed. Despite a few places where I felt the plot kind of dragged a bit, the writing moved along through the years with these characters. There were a few funny moments within the story, but not as many as I was expecting. This didn't affect my overall enjoyment, I just had the impression going in that it would be funnier (hence the title).

Overall a good read, but probably not one that I will remember much about in years to come. It was worth a read if you grew up in the time period of the Lucy show, or if you like stories about tv or film industry.