On the HahaFiction shelf
Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York
by Gail Parent
Sheila Levine has reached thirty without a husband, despite trying hard to find one. Convinced she has failed at the life expected of her, she writes her parents an extended explanation of her decision to kill herself, recounting her disappointments in New York.
From the publisher’s blurb
“Meet Sheila Levine, she's smart and funny, and her mother tells her she's beautiful.”Read the full description at The Overlook Press / Abrams
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What makes it funny?
At a party, Sheila praises New York's concerts, museums and theaters, then admits to the reader that she hasn't visited any of them. Her idea of the sophisticated life keeps colliding with what she's actually doing.
The comedy at work
Parent gives Sheila room to contradict herself. The sarcastic monologue exposes her wish to impress people and her resentment when anyone else gets what she wants, along with the family expectations that have made marriage seem essential.
Try this if…
Sheila is blunt and often ungenerous. Readers who enjoy a narrator willing to reveal her own unattractive thoughts may appreciate the social comedy around bad dates, disappointing work and the pressure to appear successful.
Good to know
First published in 1972, the novel uses suicidal ideation as its organizing device. Holly Williams's review also notes frank discussion of sex, abortion and menstruation, and attitudes toward homosexuality that feel dated.
More funny contemporary & literary
Sources & further reading
- Publisher
Publisher
- Holly Williams review
Review
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