Stop Me If You've Heard This One
Shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2025
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- 3,99 €
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- 3,99 €
Publisher Description
Shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2025
'This novel is sweet, sexy, sad, articulate, and funny' Vogue
Cherry Hendricks might be down on her luck, but she can write the book on what makes something funny: she's a professional clown who creates raucous, zany fun at gigs all over Orlando. Her life is a mess, but she's always hustling.
Cherry's luck changes when she meets Margot the Magnificent - the most successful entertainer on the circuit. By pursuing Margot's mentorship and connections, Cherry is certain she can take her act to the next level. Plus, Margot is sexy as hell.
But it's not long before Cherry must decide how much she's willing to risk for Margot, and for her own explosive new act. What kind of clown does she want to be under her costume?
'Unique, weird as anything, but it's also so much deeper . . . While this book will make you laugh, the story is guaranteed to pull at your heartstrings too' Daily Express
'As much heart, humour, and gritty realness as can fit between two covers' People
'A funny and heartfelt tale of one woman grappling with grief, love and how to move forward' New York Times
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Arnett (Mostly Dead Things) paints an irresistible portrait of the artist as a clown. In the five years since Cherry's hilarious and financially successful older brother, Dwight (who was also their mother's favorite), died, she has sought to always be the funniest person in the room. Now she spends her afternoons and weekends on the Orlando, Fla., birthday party circuit, alternately delighting and terrifying young children as Bunko, an aspiring rodeo clown who's terrified of horses, and sneaking breaks to seduce the moms, more than a few of whom harbor a secret clown fetish. A stultifying job at a dysfunctional aquarium store pays the bills (sort of), but Cherry is serious about perfecting her art. To that end, she pursues a mentorship (with benefits) with beautiful older magician Margot the Magnificent. Throughout, Cherry's wisecracking first-person narration masks the sorrow of her mother's indifference, as well as her irritation with the challenges of being queer in central Florida: "Clowning requires a kind of steeliness that I associate with my coming-out process: the knowledge that there will always be people in life who will hate you for who and what you love." Despite, or perhaps due to, its absurdity and bittersweet undertones, Cherry's story makes a powerful case for pursuing one's art authentically and fearlessly. It's a riot.
