Quick Shots of False Hope: A Rejection Collection

By Laura Kightlinger

Nobody ever promised Laura (except maybe her high school Spanish teacher, and she never understood what he was saying anyway) that life was going to be easy. And sure enough, it wasn't. From her high... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380810468
• ISBN13: 9780380810468
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Good Comic; Terrific Writer

I picked this one up on a whim, after seeing the author's stand up performances on Comedy Central (the last available commercial television network for thinking adults). She is very good as a comedienne, but nowhere near as much so as in writing this book. I can't imagine how it hasn't received more notice. Kightlinger masters the art of expressing acid distaste better than anyone I have read in years. I might compare her to a Camille Paglia with less erudition, but a whole lot more laughs. As much as I enjoyed Quick Shots, my wife did so far more -- a woman thing, I guess. The High School stories reminded me vaguely of the wonderful things that Jean Shepard used to write about the 30's and 40's in Indiana -- except updated for the 80's and 90's with appropriate amounts of bile and coarseness in place of the sugar. Kightlinger's use of language is razor like: you will be reading the next sentence before you notice the blood from the subtle cut two lines back. She also has a magical ability to weave crude and vulgar terms (no criticism intended) into standard diction for an awesome shock effect (and accompanying bellylaughs). This is one terrific book and I would be profoundly disappointed if the author doesn't follow up with some more.

Oh, Lord almighty!

This a brilliant book written straight from the heart. It has more substance and humanity than most humor writers have the guts to include (the exception being Drew Carey's Dirty Jokes and Beer). I (thankfully) read it in an empty room where my loud bursts of laughter caused little personal embarrassment. I highly recommend this book to people with a taste for sharp, honest humor and who can appreciate someone who elegantly rolls with life's punches.

Fabulously moving short stories from a truly unique comedian

I was not expecting the high quality of writing and storytelling I found in this collection of shorts. Having seen Ms. Kightlinger's comedy at clubs and on TV I knew her to be one of the few truly unique and hilarious stand-up comedians not yet snatched up by Sitcoms and mainstream movies. I thought this would be some trite joke book. It is not. One is pulled through it, eagerly turning pages of ingeneous and emotional writing that strikes me as a mixture of Dorothy Parker and Woody Allen's early short stories. I literally read this book in one sitting. Every description is so perfect and often so painful. As for the critic who didn't "get it" and would recommend Jay Leno as a substitute, I guess there are those who should just stick to the safety of comedy I sum up as "guys are like this, and chics are like that". I will always prefer the catharsis of humiliating stories of persistance and expression as told by an artist who has completely succeeded in perfecting her craft. This book is a hidden treasure. I highly recommend it (to anyone with a real sense of humor).

An Excellent Book: A Quick and Worthwhile Read

This book is the best I have read of its kind. Its honesty is brutal and yet both charming and intensely moving. I found its comedy to be much greater than that that a less honest more "comedic" book might have ever hoped to produce. In reading this book and the numerous little "shots" of life it contains, I can promise you three things: You will laugh; you will be moved, and you will sympathize---perhaps being able to live your own life more stoicly for having seen her tribulations.

The perfect book for the Emergency Room lobby...

...No, REALLY. Because about 20 minutes after buying Laura's book I managed to slash my hand to ribbons while trying to change a burnt out florescent tube and I read it- all 173 pages- with my hand wrapped and bleeding into a t-shirt waiting for the nurse to call my name. Thank God I grabbed it on the way out the door. I've always been a fan of her stand up with it's dark and wonderfully warped humor, and while you get a fair amount of that here, you also get a lot of blunt honesty and painful moments. I'd compare it to Julia Sweeney's recent work, though maybe without quite as much cancer. Anyway, it's great and you NEED to read it. And I need a new copy. I got blood all over mine. Why do I think Laura would love that?