Franny Banks has always wanted to be an actor. After college, she packed up her things and moved to New York; giving herself three years to make significant strides in her acting career. Now it's 1995 and the three year mark is looming. But it's taken Franny practically that long to get a decent waitressing gig at a comedy club and to get into a top-notch acting class. All she has to show for her hard work is a terrible commercial for Christmas sweaters and a contact at an agency who only sends her to auditions for commercials. Franny's best hope is the showcase that her acting class is putting together. There will be real agents in attendance and Franny hopes that if she does really well, this will be the big break she has been hoping for. But then she falls in the middle of a monologue and, worse yet, maybe flashes the audience. However, when Franny goes to Stavros afterwards for notes, he tells her that two different people were interested in her. Two! Franny immediately calls the prospective agents and sets up meetings.
Barney Sparks of the Sparks Agency is a nice, if not older, agent running a one man talent agency. He and Franny hit it off right away but Franny decides that she should at least meet the other agent before signing any official paperwork. Then Franny arrives at Absolute Agency- one of the best groups in town. She is immediately impressed by the big, shiny offices and the rather official Joe Melville. When Melville casually suggests that Franny go around the corner to a casting session, all thoughts of poor Barney immediately vanish.
Franny learns a lot about acting during the course of the book. Graham really pits her against a lot of different types of actors and you can see that though Franny is very talented, she is constantly floundering because she feels that she is missing something that everyone else has. She has to work herself through many no's before she gets any yes's. She has to decide what is most important about acting and what the craft means to her. For example: will she appear topless for a few mere seconds in order to land a movie role? Will she read each script as she thinks the casting directors want to hear it or will she take chances to let her own abilities shine through?
Someday, Someday, Maybe was a delightful book. That is not to say that it was fluffy and light, but the book itself made me feel warm and satisfied after reading it. Lauren Graham has created a joyful romp through the life of an actress during the mid-90s and it is obvious that she had a lot of fun doing it. And yes. This is the very same Lauren Graham who starred in Gilmore Girls, Parenthood and Bad Santa. Graham has a BA in English from Barnard College and clearly put her skills to use in a new way with her first novel.
Someday, Someday, Maybe will be published this coming Tuesday, April 30th. The library received its advanced reader's copy from the publisher. Place it on hold in CountyCat today!
