Mommy Tried to Kill Me

Comedian Suzy Soro's latest book is memoir done right. It's self-effacing without being too earnest, hilarious without being too blunt, and spot on when it comes to secrets, and her family is rife with secrets. To survive requires armor and Soro is properly suited for this work. She deftly blends her particular brand of humor with the heartbreak of caring for her mother, who lives in France. Soro spent all her summers in Europe and went to college in Paris but hasn't been back in twenty years. Can she leave Los Angeles and try and mend the rifts with her mother that have plagued them over a lifetime? Although her "privileged poverty," some odd health woes, and a highly critical mother could weigh down a memoir, Soro's skill as a comedy writer pairs with her acerbic and simultaneously charming tone to take the reader through a series of French nightmares. It's one calamity after another and as the weeks drag on, it doesn't look like the problems will end or that Soro will ever master the metric system as well as she masters wine and pastries.