I'll Take You There

A Novel

By: Wally Lamb

Narrated by: George Guidall

New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb weaves an evocative, deeply affecting tapestry of one Baby Boomer's life—Felix Funicello, introduced in Wishin’ and Hopin’—and the trio of unforgettable women who have changed it, in this radiant homage to the resiliency, strength, and power of women.

I’ll Take You There centers on Felix, a film scholar who runs a Monday night movie club in what was once a vaudeville theater. One evening, while setting up a film in the projectionist booth, he’s confronted by the ghost of Lois Weber, a trailblazing motion picture director from Hollywood’s silent film era. Lois invites Felix to revisit—and in some cases relive—scenes from his past as they are projected onto the cinema’s big screen.

In these magical movies, the medium of film becomes the lens for Felix to reflect on the women who profoundly impacted his life. There’s his daughter Aliza, a Gen Y writer for New York Magazine who is trying to align her post-modern feminist beliefs with her lofty career ambitions; his sister, Frances, with whom he once shared a complicated bond of kindness and cruelty; and Verna, a fiery would-be contender for the 1951 Miss Rheingold competition, a beauty contest sponsored by a Brooklyn-based beer manufacturer that became a marketing phenomenon for two decades. At first unnerved by these ethereal apparitions, Felix comes to look forward to his encounters with Lois, who is later joined by the spirits of other celluloid muses.

Against the backdrop of a kaleidoscopic convergence of politics and pop culture, family secrets, and Hollywood iconography, Felix gains an enlightened understanding of the pressures and trials of the women closest to him, and of the feminine ideals and feminist realities that all women, of every era, must face.

Felt rushed in the last chapters

Wally Lamb is a phenomenal writer and story teller. The narrator was perfect for this role and felt authentic. I just feel like there needed to be more. The themes addressed are relevant and worthy and certainly provide an accurate portrait of what was and what is the fight toward equality for woman and more marginalized groups.
I don’t know what could have been added to lengthen the story, so maybe making it longer would have been simply for the sale of word count. It’s certainly worth a read and an enjoyable listen.

Very nice

Not as heavy as his books can be. I Enjoyed it. The reading was great.

Good

Maybe I was too excited about the next Wally Lamb book. So, I was a little disappointed. I am looking forward to the next one. This one is on par with his Christmas book.

The Real Deal

This is a good one - just what you want and expect from Wally Lamb; a nice long listen to lose yourself in for a long while. The characters are memorable and so are the situations. It has a plot that doesn't quit and his references are great. For my money perhaps he doesn't deliver as strongly as he might have on the promise of Lois Weber, but just the fact that he knows who she is wins him points with me.

Fantastic !

Wally Lamb has always been a favorite author of mine. I had sort of forgotten about him when I noticed this book. This story is beautifully crafted. The characters are flawed and very real. This story chronicles the journey from ignorance to wisdom for many of the characters. It asks the listener to consider his or her feelings about family, equality and the afterlife through the telling of one family's journey through decades past. Definitely worth the time!