Waiting for Tom Hanks: A Novel by Kerry Winfrey

           I don’t know about you, but sometimes I come across a book where I feel the character is living my life.  Not exactly, but to the point where it feels the character is going through things similar to what I have been going through.  Whether it is feelings or events, in some ways I feel as though my story is being told.  That is what happened with Waiting for Tom Hanks.
           Of course, Waiting for Tom Hanks is a work of fiction, and to my knowledge I have never spoken to the author in my life, so this being my actual life story is not true.  And I certainly have not gone through everything the main character has.  My point is, sometimes with a book, despite it being fiction, things are all too familiar.

           Annie Cassidy loves romantic comedies.  She loves them to the point her ideal man is the characters Tom Hanks plays.  The characters in Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, in particular.

           When not working on her freelance articles, Annie works on a romantic comedy script she is writing.  So, when a romantic comedy movie comes to town to film, it feels like fate.

           At least it does to Annie’s best friend, Chloe.  Annie isn’t so sure, even after her Uncle Don gets her a job as the assistant to the director.  With the job in front of her, Annie decides to give fate a shot.

           What Annie finds is her job is not all that thrilling.  It mostly consists of getting coffee for the director, Tommy Crisante.  She then proceeds to spill said coffee on the male star of the film, Drew Danforth.  In turn, Drew nicknames Annie “Coffee Girl”.

          Annie cannot stand this nickname, and she certainly can’t stand Drew.  She doesn’t think he is right, or have respect, for the genre she loves.  Yet, despite her many reasons to dislike him, Annie finds herself falling for Drew.               

           The feelings are mutual even though it takes Annie a long time to figure that out.  However, Drew is only in town for a short time, making any possible relationship between them short.  This scenario is not how romantic comedies work.  If it doesn’t work in a romantic comedy, how can it work for Annie?

The Path Not Taken/Artwork by Kate Dorsey

           Okay, so while I said in many ways this book felt like my life story, there are also many ways it does not.  First off, I do not believe my life should be a romantic comedy, and I do not make efforts to turn it into one.  Second, I do not expect a fictional character to appear in real form, although I do understand being attracted to a fictional character.  I know I cannot be alone with this, and probably everyone has felt this way at some time.  If not, why is there such a fascination with Mr. Darcy?

            The place where I felt the story could be about me was with Annie having goals in her life, yet being stuck in how to make them happen.  Annie felt she couldn’t move from where she was because of leaving her uncle and the memories of her mother behind.  When you feel you are abandoning someone or something, it can be hard to move forward with your own life.  That is something I, and probably many other people, can understand.  Fortunately, for Annie, she had working the on the film set help her move things forward.

          Besides completely relating to this book, something I really liked about it was all the movie references.  I love movies and film in general, so I found the references a lot of fun.  Some, I’ll admit, I did not understand because I have definitely not seen every romantic comedy.  Usually I tend towards mystery or drama, but I have seen romantic comedies, as well.  As for the films I didn’t know, it was fun reading about them, and thinking maybe I should give them a try.

With what a appears to be a second book coming out about Chloe, I wonder if the movie references will continue.  It would be really fun if they did.  But as the book is about Chloe and not Annie, it would be okay if it didn’t.  Let Chloe tell her story in her own way.