Life Is Funny: A Riveting Tale of Comedy, Hairdressing, and Texas Politics

by Leigh Anne Jasheway-Bryant

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0967448670
• ISBN13: 9780967448671
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Leigh Anne Jasheway
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Comedy that hits home

As a hairdresser, I probably read this book from a different perspective than many. I love characters and the main character, hairdresser Judy Parker and her coworkers intrigued me. Some of Judy's friends and co-workers are a bit on the eccentric side. There is Ima, the manicurist. Along with nails, she does palm reading as an added service. Her one flaw is falling asleep in the middle of a set of nails. Leon is the male hairdresser in the salon. He is straight and macho and keeps up a stream of flirtatious flattery going for his elderly lady clients. Bernadette is fairly normal but her boyfriends are scary. Nan is an interesting character - or characters. She has multiple personality disorder. Fortunately two of her personalities can do hair. Anyone, not in the business, may think that these characters are completely fictional, but in the many hair salons in which I have worked, I'm sure I have known and worked with a few of them. "Life is Funny" is easy reading and lots of fun. I laughed out loud and still feel a bond with the girls in the salon. I read it because its main character was a hairdresser. The comedy and politics were an added bonus. It's a good, well-rounded story that leaves you with a smile on your face.

Cute comedy about a diverse group of Texas women

The comedy novel Life is Good centers around Judy, the least dysfunctional hairdressers at Lone Star Cuts, a popular salon located just six blocks from the Texas Capitol Building in Austin. Judy entertains clients and co-workers alike with her constant comic chatter, and she dreams of the day she might leave the world of cosmetology for the world of the stand-up comedian. Given that she is a single mother of two children, however, this seems unlikely to happen. But then two things happen: 1) Judy makes a new friend during her mammogram (really!), who tells her about the weekly contests held by a local comedy club, and 2) one of her salon's politician wife clients, Sarah, happens to reveal some interested information about her husband, who is currently running for governor. With this new material, Judy is off and running--but will she be stopped before she can even get started? Author Jasheway-Bryant does a nice job incorporating supporting characters, including Judy's best friend, Lynn (a lesbian who is looking for love), her new friend, Gail (her mammogram radiologist), her boyfriend, Mark (a nice guy who might not meet Judy's usual "bad boy" criteria), and various others along the way. I should note the book, which was published by a small press, Comedy Workout Publishing, included quite a few typos, which were a bit of a distraction at times. Still, although I didn't quite find this novel to be laugh-out-loud funny, I did find it to be an amusing read--I enjoyed spending time with these quirky characters, and I'm sure you will too.

Ten Gallon Laughs From Lone Star Gal Pals

I read "Life Is Funny" by Leigh Anne Jasheway-Bryant this past weekend, and Monday morning I am still smiling and holding my sides, thinking about it. This is a story of some quirky but very real women, with real feelings and problems that use their humor and courage to get them through the tricks life plays on them. A Texas beauty parlor in the heart of 'good old boy' territory is the main setting, and although most of the stylists/women in the shop are about half a bubble off the plumb(okay the one with seven personalities is a little further out then that), it is hard not to not only relate to them immediately, but also fall in love with all of them as well. Judy is the main character. A hairstylist(not her best talent), single mom of two boys, high school dropout, who lives in a trailer with a hole in the floor. Hey, she says always turning a bad situation into a better one, it makes it easier to take out the trash. She's had her share of heartbreak from her choices in men, always attracted to the 'bad boy', but constantly keeps her friends and clients laughing with her quick wit and mood lightening quips. She dreams of having the courage to try her hand at stand-up comedy. Her friends say go for it, she can't miss. Judy has heard it all in the shop, she's a therapist/comedian without a degree. She may not have a diploma, but her insight is amazing and uses it in her first stab on stage. This very "insightful" act has most in stitches,but angers the leading candidate for governor, an ultra conservative who still thinks a women's place is in the dark ages. Well one thing leads cleverly and quite humorously to another, and all of a sudden, Judy, finds herself running against the brute on the independent/comedy ticket. I was reminded of "Brewster's Millions" at this point. It's a wild and crazy ride as Judy and company on the strength of her humor and insight try to open the eyes of the voters to what really is the joke being played out before them. A fabulous cast of supporting characters, reasons to cheer them on and a laugh on nearly every page make this book a very fun and endearing read. Judy's friends include a fortune teller manicurists, a lesbian looking for love, a brilliant woman with a dark secret who uses her talents to bring breast cancer awareness to the forefront, the shop owner who could never say no, and of all people a very rich backer in the form of the wife of the big bad opposing candidate. There are also a couple of men who's unending support of the women they love makes you cheer for them as well. Although there were a couple of times, I would have liked a little more story - Judy's debate with the candidates, and her second go at a stand-up contest - it was a thoroughly enjoyable read. A very entertaining look a life and politics. A teriffic first novel from funny lady Leigh Anne Jasheway-Bryant.Five stars for one that made me forget everything else for a while and left me uplifted and smiling. I am hoping for a seri

Author description of the book

Life is Funny: A Riveting Tale of Comedy, Hairdressing, and Texas Politics is the first novel by Erma Bombeck Humor award-winning author, Leigh Anne Jasheway-Bryant. The book is the story of a mediocre hairdresser in Austin, Texas who dreams of one day becoming a stand-up comedian -- after she finishes raising her two boys, fixes the hole in the floor of her trailer, helps her lesbian best friend find true love, and dumps the guy she's dating because he's too nice. But when she enters a comedy competition and uses a little tidbit of information about a gubernatorial candidate she overheard while cutting hair at the salon, she ends up setting off a chain of events that starts with her best friend being fired and her sons being harassed by strange men in trench coats, and ends wit an offer for her to run for Governor herself. Will she or won't she? Only her hairdresser knows for sure. One thing is certain, however, it's a hair-raising, thigh-slapping tale that will leave you wishing you'd put on Depends before you picked up the book.