Quick Synopsis

The memoir of actress and comedian Molly Shannon detailing her childhood through her career.

Publisher’s Synopsis

A candid, compulsively readable, hilarious, and heartbreaking memoir of resilience and redemption by comedic genius Molly Shannon.

At age four, Molly Shannon’s world was shattered when she lost her mother, baby sister, and cousin in a car accident with her father at the wheel. Held together by her tender and complicated relationship with her grieving father, Molly was raised in a permissive household where her gift for improvising and role-playing blossomed alongside the fearlessness that would lead her to become a celebrated actress.

From there, Molly ventured into the wider world of New York and Los Angeles show business, where she created her own opportunities and developed her daring and empathetic comedy. Filled with behind-the-scenes stories involving everyone from Whitney Houston to Adam Sandler to Monica Lewinsky, many told for the first time here, Hello, Molly! spans Molly’s time on Saturday Night Live—where she starred alongside Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Cheri Oteri, Tracy Morgan, and Jimmy Fallon, among many others. At the same time, it explores with humor and candor her struggle to come to terms with the legacy of her father, a man who both fostered her gifts and drive and was left with the impossible task of raising his kids alone after the loss of her mother.

Witty, winning, and told with tremendous energy and heart, Hello, Molly!, written with Sean Wilsey, sheds new and revelatory light on the life and work of one of our most talented and free-spirited performers.

Book Review

Hello, Molly! is the memoir of comedian and actress Molly Shannon. It details Shannon’s early childhood through recently, including her time at SNL and her struggle to break into Hollywood.

I initially tried to read Hello, Molly! in written form but gave up after less than two chapters. Because I received a copy from the publisher, I decided to give it a go on audio many months later. The reason book was so difficult to read was that the writing was very simple and disjointed. There were many times that I could not believe how juvenile the writing was. Chapters were filled with sometimes random, surface-level thoughts and details. In addition, the narrative jumped all over and was not chronological. Consequently, I was often confused where in time a story was taking place or how it connected to anything that came before it. Moreover, there are a lot of people referenced in this book, and I would often forget who someone was by the time she referred to them again. I expected better considering that this was actually a published book and she co-wrote it with an author.

Hello, Molly! was not funny in the least. I did not know much about Molly Shannon going into this book, and I am not particularly familiar with her comedy. What ever makes her funny was definitely missing from this book, which is unfortunate considering the interesting life she has lived. I did not laugh once during the entire 7 hours of listening time.

Although a lot of Hello, Molly! is focused on Shannon’s childhood and coping with her mother’s and sister’s death, I appreciated that she chronicled her struggle to break into Hollywood and the comedy world. It was nice to hear how much time and hard work it took. I think that this is a detail often left out of celebrity memoirs.

Overall, I was not a fan of Hello, Molly! and was disappointed. If you are a big fan of Molly Shannon or are looking to break into show business, you may enjoy this book. Otherwise, I would skip it.

Rating

Overall Rating

Writing

Cohesiveness

Storyline