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erinfrances_'s review against another edition
Just not interested at the moment. I have a tough time getting started with an audiobook. And I’m currently reading a paperback that I’m really enjoying, so I didn’t want to waste anymore time in this.
kategci's review
3.0
I picked this up for a pop-up online book group, especially after Bill Goldstein of Today in New York fame talked about it. This seems to be a very autobiographical novel about Darin Straus' grandfather Isidore. I enjoyed it, it was very New York and I liked that part. I read it on the day of and day after the 2020 Presidential election and I think I was very distracted while reading. I am eager to hear the author speak this evening, and then I may like it better.
kelseysoderberg's review
1.0
I NEVER dnf books but I just couldn’t do it with this one, which is a shame bc I was really excited about it when I read the synopsis.
juliannacamryn's review
4.0
basically a fanfic about lucille ball and the author’s grandfather with incorrect information galore. i absolutely loved it.
rigbymel76's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
gr8reader's review
4.0
Listened to it as a audio book and found it very slow until I upped the speed a bit. Found it very interesting in terms of what things were like during the time. Curious if Strauss' portrayal of LB's attitude towards Jews was just a reflection of the time or her personal feelings - not that she was blatantly anti-semetic, but in how she labelled people. Found the historical part very interesting.
perednia's review
4.0
What if? That's the story of life.
What if I had done this? What if he had done that? What if someone knew this about her? What if no one knew? What if no one cared?
What if a man entering middle age, who wanted to be a writer but went into the family real estate business, had kissed Lucille Ball at a Coney Island party one evening? What if that led to another encounter? What if these things showed that man how his own life had become a series of What if? scenarios in which everything seems hollow, even though that man realizes his good fortune?
That's the story of Isidore Strauss. In Darin Strauss's new novel, The Queen of Tuesday, a character who may or may not be the author's grandfather may or may not have kissed the famous star before she became Lucy and everyone fell in love with her. If it happened, what might have happened next? What turns did his life take?
And what if Isidore, now an old man, had told his grandson about what may have happened? And that there is a chance that he may have written something that may yet be seen in the world? The novel goes meta with this part of the narrative, as the author breaks the fourth wall.
The other side of "What if?" in this novel is "Hold on". That's the nickname Lucille gives Isidore at that party on the beach, one held by Fred Trump. What if someone holds on to what she knows is dear, even if there is heartache? What if someone holds on and gives a second, third and fourth thought to the idea of flinging caution out?
Amidst all the yearning and desires for other things in life throughout The Queen of Tuesday, the sections centered on Lucille Ball are outstanding. Both the difficulties in dealing with an unfaithful husband and with a career that is on the brink of being a Hollywood has-been are clearly conveyed. The success of "I Love Lucy" is both something that no one imagined happening and something that leads to more "What if?" scenarios.
The breakthrough sitcom, which apparently is being shown somewhere in the world every minute, lends another "what if?" layer to the narrative. What if Lucille Ball had not been beloved as Lucy when HUAC came calling? Or would they have come calling at all had she not become famous as Lucy? What if Lucille was more like Lucy and Desi was like Ricky? How would their own marriage have been different? What if we viewed "I Love Lucy" as an extended playing out of Lucille not wanting to break into show business, like Lucy, but instead wanting to be close to her husband? What if we viewed Ricky Ricardo not as a bandleader, but as the man Desi turned out to be -- successful at running the business side even while being an unfaithful husband? Is Lucy's attempt to be on Ricky's stage nothing more than Lucille's attempt to have the TV show as a way to keep her marriage to Desi?
The Queen of Tuesday is the kind of book people could chat about with large glasses of a preferred beverage, wondering aloud various "what if?" ideas.
What if I had done this? What if he had done that? What if someone knew this about her? What if no one knew? What if no one cared?
What if a man entering middle age, who wanted to be a writer but went into the family real estate business, had kissed Lucille Ball at a Coney Island party one evening? What if that led to another encounter? What if these things showed that man how his own life had become a series of What if? scenarios in which everything seems hollow, even though that man realizes his good fortune?
That's the story of Isidore Strauss. In Darin Strauss's new novel, The Queen of Tuesday, a character who may or may not be the author's grandfather may or may not have kissed the famous star before she became Lucy and everyone fell in love with her. If it happened, what might have happened next? What turns did his life take?
And what if Isidore, now an old man, had told his grandson about what may have happened? And that there is a chance that he may have written something that may yet be seen in the world? The novel goes meta with this part of the narrative, as the author breaks the fourth wall.
The other side of "What if?" in this novel is "Hold on". That's the nickname Lucille gives Isidore at that party on the beach, one held by Fred Trump. What if someone holds on to what she knows is dear, even if there is heartache? What if someone holds on and gives a second, third and fourth thought to the idea of flinging caution out?
Amidst all the yearning and desires for other things in life throughout The Queen of Tuesday, the sections centered on Lucille Ball are outstanding. Both the difficulties in dealing with an unfaithful husband and with a career that is on the brink of being a Hollywood has-been are clearly conveyed. The success of "I Love Lucy" is both something that no one imagined happening and something that leads to more "What if?" scenarios.
The breakthrough sitcom, which apparently is being shown somewhere in the world every minute, lends another "what if?" layer to the narrative. What if Lucille Ball had not been beloved as Lucy when HUAC came calling? Or would they have come calling at all had she not become famous as Lucy? What if Lucille was more like Lucy and Desi was like Ricky? How would their own marriage have been different? What if we viewed "I Love Lucy" as an extended playing out of Lucille not wanting to break into show business, like Lucy, but instead wanting to be close to her husband? What if we viewed Ricky Ricardo not as a bandleader, but as the man Desi turned out to be -- successful at running the business side even while being an unfaithful husband? Is Lucy's attempt to be on Ricky's stage nothing more than Lucille's attempt to have the TV show as a way to keep her marriage to Desi?
The Queen of Tuesday is the kind of book people could chat about with large glasses of a preferred beverage, wondering aloud various "what if?" ideas.
thathappyreader's review
3.0
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz indisputably changed the landscape of television with their megahit “I Love Lucy”. The first television show to be recorded before a live audience, this beloved show can still be introduced to new generations today as it continues on TV in syndication nearly 70 years from its original run. The Queen of Tuesday is a fictional read about this time in history with a storyline that combines Lucille’s professional and home life with Desi Arnaz and the author’s Grandfather’s suggested romance with the famous redhead.
There were several aspects of the book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The author has done a great job in his research of Lucille and recounts several episodes of the show which I was able to recall vividly. I also appreciated the romantic story between Lucille and Hold-on (Lucille’s nickname for the author’s Grandfather) although this was very little of the actual book. What I didn’t like about the book is that I felt at times that the writing felt awkward. I found the first chapters to be particularly challenging to read. Moreover, I really wasn’t that engaged to all the history of his Grandparent’s lives.
Overall, I found the book to be entertaining in several points but also difficult to read at times. I think this book tried to be too much with combining the author’s Grandparents lives, I Love Lucy history, and a romance between Lucille and Hold-on. The flow of the book was impacted as a result.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.
There were several aspects of the book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The author has done a great job in his research of Lucille and recounts several episodes of the show which I was able to recall vividly. I also appreciated the romantic story between Lucille and Hold-on (Lucille’s nickname for the author’s Grandfather) although this was very little of the actual book. What I didn’t like about the book is that I felt at times that the writing felt awkward. I found the first chapters to be particularly challenging to read. Moreover, I really wasn’t that engaged to all the history of his Grandparent’s lives.
Overall, I found the book to be entertaining in several points but also difficult to read at times. I think this book tried to be too much with combining the author’s Grandparents lives, I Love Lucy history, and a romance between Lucille and Hold-on. The flow of the book was impacted as a result.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.
mmz's review
3.0
This book is being marketed as a romance, a love story. I say, really? There are elements of that in it, to be sure, but in some ways this book is quite the opposite. The story is two-fold. One part is a part-fictional, small-part memoir of the author's grandfather, who may or may not have had an affair with Lucille Ball. They met at a party in New York, before she was nearly as famous as she would later become. He was established in his real estate career, married, with children. She too was already married, and focused on making herself (and Desi) a rising star in the acting world. But they caught each other's attention and a slight obsession followed. The book jumps through the years, following both, and interspersed with the author's own story of talking to his dying grandfather (the one who, as a younger man, is a character in the larger story - don't worry, it's not as confusing as it sounds).
Do Lucille and the author's grandfather ever get together? Well, such is the stuff that stories are made of. Did any of this really happen? That's a more complicated question. What is the responsibility of the author of historical fiction to historical fact? Strauss is completely clear that he doesn't know the truth of the matter, but he also acknowledges fudging such fundamental facts as the day of the week on which I Love Lucy aired. And why? That particular detail is absolutely not relevant to the plot, so why bother to change a fact of history. To me, that calls the entire enterprise of this book into doubt. Maybe he did that on purpose, since he himself doesn't know the truth of the possible relationship between his grandfather and Lucille Ball.
Setting the absolute truth aside, this is a very readable story. It follows Lucille Ball through her early struggles with Desi and her career, into her stardom, and through the collapse of her marriage, even as she continues to grow more powerful in Hollywood. It follows Isidore Strauss, mostly through a family lens, as his children grow and his wife becomes an alcoholic. Either of these stories separately might have made good reading. Tying them together is something of a conceit on the author's part, and it doesn't quite work.
Do Lucille and the author's grandfather ever get together? Well, such is the stuff that stories are made of. Did any of this really happen? That's a more complicated question. What is the responsibility of the author of historical fiction to historical fact? Strauss is completely clear that he doesn't know the truth of the matter, but he also acknowledges fudging such fundamental facts as the day of the week on which I Love Lucy aired. And why? That particular detail is absolutely not relevant to the plot, so why bother to change a fact of history. To me, that calls the entire enterprise of this book into doubt. Maybe he did that on purpose, since he himself doesn't know the truth of the possible relationship between his grandfather and Lucille Ball.
Setting the absolute truth aside, this is a very readable story. It follows Lucille Ball through her early struggles with Desi and her career, into her stardom, and through the collapse of her marriage, even as she continues to grow more powerful in Hollywood. It follows Isidore Strauss, mostly through a family lens, as his children grow and his wife becomes an alcoholic. Either of these stories separately might have made good reading. Tying them together is something of a conceit on the author's part, and it doesn't quite work.