The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman

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Sadie is caught off-guard by Norman’s announcements, but seeing him get excited about something, anything, makes it impossible for her to refuse to go along with his plan. Filled with fear and trepidation, she agrees to a road trip to Edinburgh, planned by her elderly but sharp friend Leonard. Reminiscent of the movie Little Miss Sunshine, the trio set out on an adventure with plenty of twists and turns along the way. The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman seemed to have the right ingredients - quirky characters, a special mother and son relationship, a heartbreaking drama, a path of healing, and authentic friendships - but it felt like something went wrong in the blending process and the final product was a bit bland. Norman, who has long fancied himself a stand-up comic in the making, an heir to his grandfather’s crown of almost-comedy great – in truth he was nothing of the kind but Norman is not aware of his antecedent’s full history – is excited to be realising a longheld dream to perform comedy, part of a grand five-year plan that he and his best friend Jax cooked up long ago, both certain their future lay with making people laugh, just like the comedy greats they idolised. Survival against impossible extraterrestrial odds: Invasion ends its second season with hope … and not? (S2, E6-10)

Little Miss Sunshine meets Wonder meets A Man Called Ove in this stunning debut novel that will touch your heart. He's wheedled his way into my heart, and I suspect I'll have a Norman-shaped hole there forever' - Clare Pooley, author of The Authenticity Project Reminiscent of the movie Little Miss Sunshine…Henderson’s cheekiness and humor shine as mother and son share their innermost fears and discuss how to carry on amid loss and grief. A lineup of great supporting characters keep things memorable and often laugh-out-loud funny. At its core, the novel is a celebration of friendships, new and old, that shape life in the best possible way. This is a happy tear-jerker for sure.But - and I know I’m just being repetitive with this type of complaint - Sadie and Norman sounded exactly the same. I could sort of accept it, as Norman was a product of Sadie’s influence and he was seemingly precocious, but it still bugged me that they felt like the same character.

Ok so I don’t usually write a review because I don’t think and question too much. I just read and either enjoy. Or not enjoy. But my friend Sam from bookclub insists that I must write a review and so this is for her. Really just so she will get off my case... except she won’t. Bahahahaha And while, there is very much a substantial element of that running through the delightfully engaging narrative, the reality is that there is also a tremendous amount of skillfully woven-in heartbreaking pain and grief.

In this book, readers are introduced to twelve year old Norman and his mother, Sadie. Norman was part of a comedy duo but his best friend, the funnier half of that duo, passed away suddenly. In an effort to help her son cope, Sadie sets out on a journey with Norman to find his father. But Sadie isn’t really sure who he is, as there were a lot of candidates! Twelve-year-old Norman Foreman had never had any friends – until bad boy Jax came along. Then they were so close that in Norman’s eyes, the best thing about having a best friend was Jax. Norman and Jax were a comedy duo in preparation for the big time. Their plan was for their appearance in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in five years’ time and they worked toward it every day. In between going to school and having the best fun. What a wonderful tale!! Except for Sadie’s obnoxious boss, Henderson gives the readers a cast of characters to love, to laugh with, to ache for, to cheer on. It’s surely impossible not to fall in love with a boy like this: “I think maybe all the parts of me that were good were actually made of Jax. And I think about that a lot because I’m pretty sure it’s true.” Norman and Ajax have a plan. A five year plan to perform their comedy act at the Edinburgh Fringe. But as we all know plans have a way of going haywire. Certainly that is the case when Jax dies at not even twelve years old. How will Norman cope without his best friend and comedy partner? As if Norman doesn’t already have enough to deal with, with the psoriasis that plagues his body that makes life extremely hard. Sadie has no idea how to help her precious son. That is until she sees that the plan has changed. Now it says , ‘ Look after Mum, Find Dad’ and ‘Get to the Edinburgh Fringe.’ Sadie, is determined to do her best to make the last two of those three things happen. With the help of elderly Leonard and his blue vintage Austin they set off on their quest. Will Norman be able to hold it together without Jax? Will Sadie find which of several candidates could be Norman’s father? Life is not without a few more surprises for Norman, Sadie and Leonard,