Quick Shots of False Hope: A Rejection Collection

by Laura Kightlinger

The author shares her most bitter, embarrassing stories of rejection, in this humorous collection of eighteen true tales covering everything from being fired from a local steakhouse to dancing to "Car Wash." Original.

Genres: Humor, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

Reviews

[Brady Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a trip. It's all about just what it says: continuous hope that things will get better but it never really does. I bought it after listening to her on Marc Maron's What the Fuck. There are definitely parts that gave me a good laugh and over all it's an interesting story. She never talks much about what worked for her, though. I was also frustrated not being able to quite tell if the awful story late in the book was made up or not. I think it was made up and I think she signals that, but I'm not really sure.

Still, it's a quick read and it's worth reading, especially if you want to kind of understand how a creative person who was never a household name gets through.

[Soelo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Humor equals tragedy plus time, they say. This was lots of tragedy and even though the book is 14 years old (1999 was that long ago?!), I did not find a lot of humor. Is that the worst thing you can say about a book that proclaims its genre as "humor" on the back cover? Maybe, but I did not hate this book. It threw some things at me from left field and I actually wondered if some of the dark stuff was true or not. Entertaining? Yes. Humorous? Only in parts. The stuff between the humor is pretty depressing.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this essay collection. I would call it a light read but the subject matter belies that description. The stories are odd, interesting and dark without a clear narrative thread which I found, to my surprise, unimportant. They also feel honest which helped me connect to the subject matter despite my unsimilar trajectory in life. I would reccommend reading it to anyone who enjoys autobiographical essays and likes standup and/or alt comedy.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Laura Kightlinger's comedy, which features dark, self-deprecating setups laced with morbid and bitter punchlines.

Examples:

"I can't think of anything worse after a night of drinking than waking up next to someone and not being able to remember their name, how you met or why they're dead."

"I guess I just feel bad that I'm still going on bad dates when I should really be in a bad marriage by now."

She's sharp and dark and funny, so I expected the book to be in the same vein.

And it is, but... The book, while darkly funny throughout, is saturated with real pain, deep regret and -- as the title truthfully states -- false hope. It comprises a series of vignettes that variously culminate with painful embarrassments, tragic deaths, a funeral and a violent sexual assault. So, yeah, pretty dark.

Really, there's just barely enough sugarcoating humor to make the stories palatable. But at the same time, the stories are refreshingly unflinching and unafraid to deal with painful topics.

The autobiographical stories roughly chart her rise from a not-popular schoolgirl to an unknown standup to a not-quite-famous writer and actor. We see her romantic heartbreaks and professional successes and failures and learn that nothing ever really goes as planned.

Unspoken, and perhaps unnoticed by an author who dwells so much on her own shortcomings, remains the fact that after every setback and tragedy in the book, Kightlinger picks herself up, dusts herself off and perserveres.

If there's an underlying positive note, it's an appropriately bittersweet one: that a willingness to perservere through calamity can leave you sadder, but wiser.

[Magda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kelly and I were reading this at the same time a while ago, and then when a bunch of us went out to Pizzeria Uno we had to compare notes, but there was someone sitting between us so it was really awkward and nobody could decide how to start the conversation but what we both meant to say was, "Wtf rape scene?"

So, that's my main beef with this book. Ambiguous rape scene: scary and unexpected, not really explained or processed. My second beef is that I wish the book had been longer. I liked it! Mostly. Laura Kightlinger is funny and we should all give her our money and attention, which I would do except I can't find the proper mailing address.

[Keith Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like your funny very dark then this is the book. Not the book if you are looking for a light read with a few laughs. Kightlinger will set you up with a laugh and then punch you in the stomach.

[Sean Polite]

Another gem in a line of books from stand up comedians that I like----underlined with the sense of tragedy and rejection which buoys the humor. Reading about her forays into writing were a motivator for me to continue my own.

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories in the first half of this collection had me laughing out loud, not so much in the second half. I love Ms. Kightlinger and think she's hilarious, but I wanted more from this book. It felt like most of the stories ended too abruptly, which is what "quick shots" refers to I guess.

[Keith Bowden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Laura Kightlinger, but I wasn't expecting this book. Very depressing and not a lot of ha-ha.

[Ellen Shull · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark. Some of the stories were interesting, some witty, but overall dark. Not what I'd call a "fun" read...

[Tina Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read this every year to remember that other people have it just as weird as I do. Darkly comedic and even better cause it's true!

[Matt Morris]

See my review of this & other books at http://miscmss.blogspot.com/2014/04/t...