Synopses & Reviews
Once again, acclaimed novelist Ron Hansen demonstrates his masterful versatility as a writer, with
Isn't It Romantic?, a screwball comedy in the tradition of filmmaker Preston Sturges. In this charming entertainment, mistaken identities, botched schemes, and hilarious misunderstandings all play a part as Parisian sophistication collides with the affability and simple pleasures of the Great Plains.
Touring America was Natalie's idea. But she had not planned on being accompanied on a cross-country bus by her playboy fiancé, Pierre. Nor had they anticipated being stranded in Seldom, Nebraska, population 395.
But that is exactly what happens to this French couple, and they quickly find themselves being taken in by the obliging citizens of Seldom: Natalie by Mrs. Christiansen, a retired high school teacher who runs a rooming house for women, and Pierre by Owen, a gas station owner and ambitious winemaker in an unlikely part of the world.
And here also, the separated couple become enchanted by the locals. Natalie is soon being wooed by Dick Tupper, a handsome and honest rancher with a rambling farmhouse and lots of wide open space. Pierre falls quickly for Iona, a beautiful, no-nonsense waitress in the local diner.
Soon everyone is hatching plots to get what they want: Owen needs help from Pierre's world-class wine business if he is ever going to sell his Nebraska vintage; Pierre wants Iona; Natalie thinks she wants Dick Tupper, but maybe it's Dick who wants Iona, and Natalie who wants Pierre? The fun and surprises are many in this playful romance.
Review
"[A] delightful surprise....All's well that ends well in this antic pastoral, which actually owes more to Preston Sturges' screwball films than to Shakespeare's comedies. Hansen shows the true reach of his talent, displaying a rare deft touch in an inspired comedy that will have readers laughing out loud. Completely charming." Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist
Review
"[C]orny...a flat-footed departure from form by National Book Award finalist Hansen....A wine tasting for hayseeds, a bachelor party...and a brace of bungled trysts are a few of the stale devices driving this perfunctory farce. The subtitle suggests that Hansen knows this is a lesser effort, and readers will concur with the analysis." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[A] short, funny novel not unlike what's available nowadays from good romance writers....This light, charming, and humorous romp will bring a smile to the face of even the most love-jaded reader. Highly recommended..." Library Journal
Review
"[H]okey and stale. The plot devices Hansen employs cultural misunderstandings, linguistic barriers, Midwestern simpletons mingling with European sophisticates are hackneyed and often result in little more than second-rate slapstick....Now that Hansen has gotten this screwball comedy out of his system, we can only hope he will return to making the absorbing literary fiction he's known for." Lori Leibovich, The Washington Post
Review
"[U]nexpectedly airy....[A] sweet, light, exhilarating flight of fancy....Mr. Hansen's view of [Nebraska] is affectionate and smart, and there are no pitiable losers to be found....Eventually, this midsummer night's dream devolves into door-slamming farce....But even as he prepares to sound wedding bells, Mr. Hansen sustains the wit of this breezy fable." Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Review
"A pleasant diversion from the usually weighty Hansen....An amusement, but no more." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[I]rreverent and laugh-out-loud funny...a good-natured ribbing of America. It doesn't pretend to vie with Hansen's 'serious' fiction, but it is further proof of this author's phenomenal range and talent....Next stop Hollywood? Who knows. They don't make movies like this anymore, alas." Heller McAlpin, The San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"It sounds as if a lot happens in this book, but when you're reading it, you'll feel as if nothing is happening. There are great, enormous stretches of time during which Hansen tries very hard to make everyone seem cute and quirky and charming (backlash is inevitable by book's end, I was sick of them all) but never really moves things along....The book is not even remotely hilarious..." Anne Stephenson, USA Today
Review
"Isn't it Romantic? is that rarest of books: a light, breezy little affair that turns out to be exactly what it purports....[B]e prepared to be unexpectedly charmed, delighted, even touched....Post-Sept. 11, Hansen has done us a delightful favor." Polly Paddock, The Charlotte Observer
Review
"This is a preposterous plot, and at its best, Isn't It Romantic? zips along like a Preston Sturges movie. Hansen slicks down his prose so the sentences are swift, and he punctuates them with a dry wit and some genuinely droll ripostes. But the comedy is scattershot, and the author often aims low....The whole shaky structure threatens to collapse, and just when all hell ought to break loose, Hansen's sense of humor fails him." Michael Downing, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Without giving one delicious crumb of the plot away, I will say that this mingling of cultures and personalities produces much humor, beauty and simply delightful humanity. For those who would sample this sweet story and find it too sugary, I say lighten up, pour it over your diner pancakes and dig in." Sarah Goodrum, BookPage
Review
"Ron Hansens fine, funny novel Isn't It Romantic? is a light-as-a-feather melange of romance, farce and folksy foolishness." Philadelphia Inquirer
Review
"A treat....[Isn't It Romantic?] has both sophisticated and down-homey humor...with laugh out loud scenes." People
Review
"Smiles and outright laughter....[A] literary bonbon as sweet and light as meringue." Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Review
"Irresistible....[S]illy and funny and filled with wonderful characters...a romp." Seattle Times
Review
"Ron Hansens brief, charming, moonstruck novel...[is a] delightful roundelay...that defies expectations." The Wall Street Journal
Review
"Ron Hansen's Isn't It Romantic? is a lively, affectionate and often poetic romp. It made me laugh out loud." Bob Kerrey, President of the New School University and former Nebraska Governor and Senator
Synopsis
Irresistible
silly and funny and filled with wonderful characters
a romp.
About the Author
Ron Hansen is the author, most recently, of
A Stay Against Confusion: Essays on Faith and Fiction and of the novel
Hitler's Niece. His previous novel,
Atticus, was a National Book Award finalist. Other highly praised works of fiction include
Mariette in Ecstasy, The Assassination Of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Desperadoes, and the story collection
Nebraska. With Jim Shepard, he edited the anthology
You've Got to Read This: Contemporary American Writers Introduce Stories That Held Them in Awe. Ron Hansen is married to the novelist Bo Caldwell and lives in northern California, where he teaches fiction writing and literature at Santa Clara University.