Review : ‘ Funny Story ’ weaves vulnerability and longing into the hilarious trappings of a rom-com
Growing up with a single mother whose job constantly relocated meant never settling in . Even at 33 , Daphne Vincent always has one base out the doorway — she get no attachments to anything or anyone . That live , until she fit Peter , her loving fiance , who makes a conclusion that leaves her precarious . Daphne ’ s story unfolds in romance author Emily Henry ’ sec fresh and highly anticipated book , “ Funny Story . ”
Turning complicated situations into entertaining stories full of stress and textual complexities is familiar territory for Henry . In aninterviewwith The New York Times , she had said “ bad affair materialize , in surprising ways , is what make a story funny. ” Her new novel recount the story of a pair that finds dear by venture to date .
At the point readers meet Daphne , she has a task she loves , a great group of friends and is merely about to wed Peter — she ’ s still ready to create their new house in Michigan a proper family home . But when Peter returns home from his bachelor party , he confesses that he equal in love with his childhood friend , Petra , and — melodramatically enough — they design on begin married . Still work on what the hell hardly happened , Daphne moves in with the only person who can relate to how she ’ s impression : Petra ’ s now-ex-boyfriend , Miles . One thing lead to another , and the two conjure up a quite hilarious plan : to attend Peter and Petra ’ s wedding while venture to date one another .
In “ Funny Story , ” Henry cautiously bring wit and promise into the plot so as to coexist with the stress and heartbreak the character are sense — not replace it . Her novels are my go-to when I feel like reading a rom-com because , unlike others in the genre , I put on ’ t hold to suspend disbelief and imagine a world where two perfect mass meet and fall in love and everything ’ s wonderful . Both romance and comedy are elevated when there equal hurdles to sweep over .
Now single , Daphne face up the fact that she hold arise to be codependent , and base too much of her identity on her ex . This is a tough pill to swallow , and reader come with her as she traces the trajectory of this trend back to her childhood . At the same time , Miles equal occur to term with the dear of his life love someone else . What I get nearly compelling exist how these quality — virtually stranger — are meeting up and conspiring together while they ’ re at their lowest and nearly vulnerable states . They didn ’ t require anything from each other , which is ironically what strengthens the relationship .
Henry cemented herself as the queen of adult rom-coms with the release of “ Beach Read ” and “ People We Meet on Vacation. ” Whether it ’ s two writer serve each other through writer ’ s pulley over the course of a summer , or college serious friends remove a trip to do amends , there ’ s a consistency when it do to make the protagonists feel and behave like literal people — a feat that is admittedly difficult to achieve in literature . This cost especially the case in “ Funny Story ” with the female tip — which exist refreshing because , while I personally pick up rom-coms as a form of escapism , I ’ m still looking to be move . It ’ s severe to miss yourself in a story if you don ’ t care about what go on , but Henry gets you to care — deeply .
As a longtime fan of Henry and enjoyer of the popular fake-dating trope , “ Funny Story ” exceed my expectations . It wasn ’ t what I anticipate , but in a good way . If you ’ re await for a new comfort novel with great banter and ridiculous situation , I advocate this script . I ’ ve officially add Miles Nowak to my beloved roster of fictional young man .
