Ask Again Later: A Novel

By Jill A. Davis

From the author of the national bestseller Girls’ Poker Night comes the hilarious yet poignant story of a woman trying to resist the urge to live with one foot constantly out the door

Ask Again Later is a humorous and revealing novel about Emily, a lawyer by default in her 20s, living in New York City. We meet Emily after quits her job in order to help her mother, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Emily soon finds that she’s not really cut out for nursing, and takes a responsibility-free job as a receptionist at a law firm headed by her father, with whom she hasn’t had a relationship in 20 years. Reappearing in their lives upon hearing of his ex-wife’s illness, her father quickly brings Emily back to a past she would rather forget, but whose challenges help her get closer to the future she has always wanted.

Jill Davis is at her most fresh and sharp, Ask Again Later reveals the laugh-out-loud pros and cons of finally going for the gusto, but finding out it isn’t exactly what you wanted.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061857157

Jill A. Davis

Jill A. Davis was a writer for Late Show with David Letterman, where she received five Emmy nominations. She has also written several television pilots and movie screenplays in addition to short stories. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Reviews for Ask Again Later

[ennie_2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This may be a perfectly good book, but I wasn't getting into it. When the narrator's mother got sick, I had to stop reading (my mother died last year).

[kjflaherty · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

After "Girl's Poker Night" this book was a big disappointment. The laughs were missing and I got to the point where I just wanted to finish it so I could move on to another book. Skip this one, but read Davis' first book.

[anietzerck · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not a fan of this book. Again, I am not big on chick-lit so I am not the target audience for this book. Definitely not one I will be keeping.

[susiesharp_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is first off a story of a dysfunctional woman with a dysfunctional family told with humor. At times it reads like a memoir. Emily has some problems that seem to stem from her relationship with her parents.There are sad times, at the beginning of the book she finds out her mother has breast cancer and goes home to be with her I loved this paragraph (because my mother also had breast cancer and it was hard to deal with).Page 108-109-As she is lying there waiting for surgery. I imagine a cancerous Pac-Man or -Lady Pac-Man- running through her body eating up her healthy tissue, expanding its mass and taking over. Devouring the flesh that nurtured me, or longed to. I want to scream. And I am mad that I'm of a generation that can best relate a parent's cancer to a video game.She is also dealing with the re-emergence of her Father in her life and a boyfriend she loves but can’t seem to commit to. We go along on this crazy ride Emily is on to try to get her life in order.This was a pretty good book if you like dysfunction this one is for you!3 Stars

[katymelrose · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this on audiobook. The end was a bit disappointing, but I enjoyed the rest of it so much that I don't really care, which is not the norm for me. It was great for the car - usually had me in a good mood by the time I got wherever I was headed.

[kace_12 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It's not that I didn't like the book, I just never really got invested in it. The family dynamics were weird to me, not in a quirky, gotta love em sort of way, just quirky what the hell. They're all these separate entities, with very thin links to one another. As someone enmeshed in family, and in everyone's business, I just couldn't identify. Beyond that though, I couldn't really glean who these characters were. The dialogue was mostly inner, and we see the world through this woman's eyes. Which is fine sometimes, but I just found myself drifting from the story, not really caring what went on. The whole emotional detachment translated for me as exactly that, and I simply could not care. But there are some really witty lines in here, as you'd expect from a former writer of the David Letterman show.

[charlotteg_37 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ask Again Later is the story of Emily. Emily & her relationships. And how the functionality of every relationship that she has today can be traced back to her childhood. Most specifically to the divorce of her parents.Emily is just drifting through life. She is a lawyer working an obscene amount of hours. Her boyfriend, Sam, also works at the same firm. And the only time they see each other is at work. Does Emily work so much to be able to see Sam? Or to avoid developing a real relationship with him.But that all changes when Emily's mother calls & says that she is dying. Emily drops everything & rushes to her mother's bedside.Emily takes this time to evaluate her life. Her career. Her relationship with Sam. Her relationship with her father & sister. She takes this time to evaluate her life as it is. Ask Again Later is a poignant story with a quirky character. Emily is flawed in ways that so many of us are. She is a character that is struggling to deal with emotions that have been buried for most of her life.The book is a fast read with an ending that doesn't come out of left field. The back of the book also has a Readers Group Guide and an interview with the author. Making it the perfect Book Club choice!Enjoy!!

[coolmama_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoy Jill.Light, breezey, yet surprisingly deep.Emily Rhodes is having a crisis: job, life, love.Her dyfunctional family needs her and at the same time she can't move forward in her life.Told in brilliant short chapters, her writing is enganging and realistic and I just love it.

[jennifour · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love this book! Very funny and excellent writing style. Emily is someone you want to be friends with...she is so darn witty! I can't put it down.