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It’s hard to be an adult. There’s the job search, taxes, and work-life balances to contend with, not to mention housekeeping, interpersonal relationships and finances — the list goes on and on. For Daphne and Miles, the protagonists of Emily Henry’s newest book, “Funny Story,” that’s not even the least of it. They’re also the blindsided exes of Peter and Petra, who, on the eve of Daphne and Peter’s wedding, decided to get together. “Funny Story” follows Daphne and Miles in the aftermath of this mishap, as Daphne moves out of Peter’s apartment into Miles’s. She is trapped in Waning Bay, Michigan for four months until she can find a new job. Though the prose feels rushed at times, the chemistry between the leads and the enchanting premise of the novel makes “Funny Story” a triumph.
The fictional Waning Bay, like most Emily Henry settings, is one of a cozy coastal town — think Sunshine Falls in “Book Lovers,” or North Bear Shores in “Beach Read.” In fact, keen-eyed fans may spot passing references to other characters within the Emily Henry Universe. Waning Bay comes with its own cast of unique characters and shops, such as Ashleigh, the brash single mother who works in the library alongside Daphne; Gill, a grizzled biker who patronizes the neighborhood bar MEATLOCKER; and a host of small businesses and business owners that are scattered throughout the book, some more distinct than others. Waning Bay’s quirks are endearing, perfectly weighted to provide a sense of realism even as the characters — and the setting — remain charmingly offbeat.
“Funny Story” succeeds in emphasizing what it means to love someone despite their flaws. Daphne’s relationships with both her divorced parents are thoughtfully fleshed out and meaningful. In particular, her interactions with her flighty and undependable dad, and his current girlfriend Starfire, are hilarious and frustrating in equal measure, highlighting a very human aspect of relationships — that sometimes the people we love are not just imperfect, but deeply flawed, and that’s okay.
The central relationship between Miles and Daphne is also as electric as it is hilarious. Helped along by the fact that the premise is jaw-droppingly alluring in its absurdity, the characters are sympathetic from the get-go. The greatest thing about the two protagonists, though, is how wonderfully petty they are. The two actively decide not to take the high road and instead go out of their way to make Peter and Petra regret their decision to leave, and the gleeful scheming that they engage in is both entertaining and magnetic. As always, Henry deftly creates tension between her characters as Daphne and Miles flirt with spirited and lively banter that never feels stale.
Henry is insistent on claiming the romance genre for her novels, even as her books, in her words, “straddle the line between romance and general fiction.” In a sense, “Funny Story” is the most classic romance novel of all her books thus far. Henry respects the romantic comedy genre with her use of tropes: Daphne and Miles are roommates in the classic trope of a small town romance. Even so, Henry fills the book with enough details and thoughtfulness that these tropes are believable and, more importantly, logical. Unlike many romance novels, Henry does not utilize tropes for the sake of ticking off a box. She proves that romance tropes can still remain fresh and compelling when written well.
For example, given the premise of the book, there was always the risk that Miles and Daphne’s relationship would feel like a rebound. Henry skillfully confronts this possibility head-on as she addresses the necessity of defining oneself outside of a relationship. Beyond the compelling chemistry between Daphne and Miles, their individual characters are incredibly strong in their own right. Being left at the altar makes Daphne a sympathetic character. However, her meticulously detailed backstory, coupled with Daphne’s sharp inner monologue, creates a hilarious protagonist that is much funnier than one would expect from a buttoned-up children’s librarian. The book doesn’t just push the romance between Daphne and Miles as its central tension, but also tackles questions of finding one’s individual identity, particularly as Daphne struggles to define her own interests and identity sans Peter.
The main takeaway from “Funny Story,” though, is that adulting is hard. This message is evident from the budding friendship between Daphne and Ashleigh — two middle-aged women struggling to connect amidst their myriad of responsibilities — and Miles’s constant worry over his younger sister Julia. In this way, perhaps it’s fitting that Daphne is the one telling the story, fully engrossing the reader into the fictional Waning Bay, Michigan.
—Staff writer Angelina X. Ng can be reached at angelina.ng@thecrimson.com.
