Community Reviews
Mom's just being Mom, right? I understand this book better than I should have. No one sees what Mom actually does, until she's not there.
I enjoyed this book, but it was a little far-fetched.
It was a fun Christmas-themed book, even though I read it when it wasn't Christmas season.
I recommend it as a fun, non-thought-provoking book.
I enjoyed this book, but it was a little far-fetched.
It was a fun Christmas-themed book, even though I read it when it wasn't Christmas season.
I recommend it as a fun, non-thought-provoking book.
Reread 12/19/24
It makes me so sad that this short story has such low ratings. I love this little story. And I was thrilled to see it’s being adapted. I’m hoping it will translate better on the screen.
Original review:
I had So. Much. Fun. reading Chandler Baker’s Oh. What. Fun. I smiled and laughed—so much so, I read it again! The Clauster family takes their mom for granted and she’s finally hit her limit. If only her family would have been paying attention…
“We love Mom, really we do, but Dad is just fun to be around. He’s not afraid to be goofy. Like when we were kids it was Dad who played freeze tag with us in the backyard, who taught us kick the can, who made silly faces in family photos and, looking back, maybe Mom has always had some predisposition to disappearing because what was she doing in the house alone after dinner? How long did it really take to fold laundry? How many times a week does one need to go to the grocery store? It was out of deference to authority that we personally never thought to ask.”
I’ve read two of Baker’s previous novels, The Whisper Network and The Husbands, both of which capture her wit. She’s an intelligent writer, creating characters who leap off the page, placing them in extraordinary circumstances. The clueless Clauster family may be my favorite of her characters, so far.
So much of this story is familiar—which had me a little worried at first—until I realized every mom will find something in this story to identify with. This is a story for all the moms who’ve felt overwhelmed at the holidays, who’ve felt unseen, unappreciated, and unloved. And who’ve imagined doing something drastic to make their family notice. Oh. What. Fun. may become an annual holiday read for me!
Check out my reviews and playlists at A Book Wanderer
It makes me so sad that this short story has such low ratings. I love this little story. And I was thrilled to see it’s being adapted. I’m hoping it will translate better on the screen.
Original review:
I had So. Much. Fun. reading Chandler Baker’s Oh. What. Fun. I smiled and laughed—so much so, I read it again! The Clauster family takes their mom for granted and she’s finally hit her limit. If only her family would have been paying attention…
“We love Mom, really we do, but Dad is just fun to be around. He’s not afraid to be goofy. Like when we were kids it was Dad who played freeze tag with us in the backyard, who taught us kick the can, who made silly faces in family photos and, looking back, maybe Mom has always had some predisposition to disappearing because what was she doing in the house alone after dinner? How long did it really take to fold laundry? How many times a week does one need to go to the grocery store? It was out of deference to authority that we personally never thought to ask.”
I’ve read two of Baker’s previous novels, The Whisper Network and The Husbands, both of which capture her wit. She’s an intelligent writer, creating characters who leap off the page, placing them in extraordinary circumstances. The clueless Clauster family may be my favorite of her characters, so far.
So much of this story is familiar—which had me a little worried at first—until I realized every mom will find something in this story to identify with. This is a story for all the moms who’ve felt overwhelmed at the holidays, who’ve felt unseen, unappreciated, and unloved. And who’ve imagined doing something drastic to make their family notice. Oh. What. Fun. may become an annual holiday read for me!
Check out my reviews and playlists at A Book Wanderer
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