#ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick as Featured on TodayA New York Times Book Review’s Group Text SelectionAn extraordinary new novel of art, love, and ambition from Lily King, the New York Times bestselling author of EuphoriaFollowing the breakout success of her critically acclaimed and award-winning novel Euphoria, Lily King returns with an unforgettable portrait of an artist as a young woman.… novel Euphoria, Lily King returns with an unforgettable portrait of an artist as a young woman.
Blindsided by her mother’s sudden death, and wrecked by a recent love affair, Casey Peabody has arrived in Massachusetts in the summer of 1997 without a plan. Her mail consists of wedding invitations and final notices from debt collectors. A former child golf prodigy, she now waits tables in Harvard Square and rents a tiny, moldy room at the side of a garage where she works on the novel she’s been writing for six years. At thirty-one, Casey is still clutching onto something nearly all her old friends have let go of: the determination to live a creative life. When she falls for two very different men at the same time, her world fractures even more. Casey’s fight to fulfill her creative ambitions and balance the conflicting demands of art and life is challenged in ways that push her to the brink.
Writers & Lovers follows Casey—a smart and achingly vulnerable protagonist—in the last days of a long youth, a time when every element of her life comes to a crisis. Written with King’s trademark humor, heart, and intelligence, Writers & Lovers is a transfixing novel that explores the terrifying and exhilarating leap between the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another.more
I really enjoyed this book! I liked the author’s depictions that were so descriptive of the characters’ worlds. And I liked the narrator’s reading as well. There was at least one part of this story that made me reminisce of a similar situation in my own life. This was a wonderful story about life, finding our way, and finding love.
I listened to Writers and Lovers on audio. Great narration. Writers and Lovers is about an aspiring young writer in Boston in the 1990s, and speaking as somebody who was also an aspiring young writer in Boston back then, boy, does this novel hit the spot. I felt it all so viscerally: wondering if you’re a fraud; watching your non-writer friends succeed in the world while you’re still struggling with pesky words in your tiny apartment; watching writer friends give up and join the nine-to-five world; taking much longer to finish a piece of writing than you wanted to; dealing with the envy as some writers your age begin succeeding; not having enough money to go out for dinner or wherever with your friends; sometimes being so broke you have trouble making rent; getting rejection letter after rejection letter; and then, the incredible feeling of validation and just plain relief when you start to get recognition for your work at last. Plus this novel really captured the feeling of being young in Boston at that time. Great stuff. I was so happy when the main character of Writers and Lovers sold her novel at last!
I adored this book.
Anyone who has ever:
Wanted to write
Suffered premature loss of a parent
Been in relationships with the wrong guy
Worked as a waitress
Will love this book too. Beautifully put together, a sensitive and amusing story of one young woman’s struggle to find herself and her place in the world. Painful, but ultimately uplifting, phew. Recommended.
Writers & Lovers by Lily King is an enthralling novel.
As an aspiring writer, the main character, Casey Peabody’s journey through life, was not an easy road to travel. Grieving her mother’s sudden death, insurmountable debt, and the loss of her love, Luke, left me praying something or someone would turn her life around.
No, that didn’t happen for some time. The reader was treated to Casey’s multitude of health issues, Luke’s dead baby, and Oscar’s dead wife. My heart ached for Oscar’s two little boys, Jasper and John.
Thankfully, Silas entered the picture, and the reader was given a semi-happy ending.
The novel is an intense read. Emotionally raw. I didn’t find a place in the book I found humorous. That said, Writers & Lovers is a five-star novel.
As a writer, I was, of course, attracted to the title and the description about the travails of a struggling author. The story has humor and sad moments mixed together, much like real life. Casey, the main character, is witty and quick with a comeback, and doesn’t have all the answers, though she’s trying to find them–trying to make good choices and stay afloat while enduring tremendous amounts of stress. You’ll find yourself rooting for her.
I absolutely loved this book. I haven’t read any by this author before, but I will be seeking out her other titles. This is the tale of a young woman, Casey who is in that sometimes difficult stage of post university and pre-career. She’s heavily in debt with college fees that threaten to swallow her whole and her only income is her meagre salary as a waitress that barely pays for the rent on the pitiful shed on the grounds of a friend’s house. Her writing is where her hopes and dreams are found, though and where she escapes and hopes some day to find her career. But her emotional baggage threatens to bring down her house of cards, even as two men enter her life and bring the possibility of love. One is mature and offers a secure future while the other offers her possibilities she’s not certain she can handle. With writing a cross between Marilynne Robinson, Elizabeth Strout with a hint of Sally Rooney the novel’s elegant, compelling and poignant prose will engross you to the end.
When I start this book I wasn’t sure I was going to like it but I continued on and absolutely loved it. Great characters about real life. Not billionaires and craps romance writing. HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU READ IT.
I read this as an audio book. It was like someone went on and on about their life and their life’s woes. I kept waiting for something remarkable to happen. It was an OK read.
An outstanding novel, both poignant and funny, told from the pov of a determined, not-yet-published novelist. As a writer myself, I could especially relate to this book. Not for readers who come to books first and foremost for roller-coaster plots.
Ms. King does a great job with the ups and downs of grief, the impacts to and of relationships during that peak and valley time. The writing matches the emotions but doesn’t necessarily pull the reader irretrievably into the depths of them.
She’s thirty-ish, unmoored, unmarried, adrift. Mourning the loss of her mother, stuck in a waitressing job (not the first) and a soured love life, she has only the dim flicker of a long-unfinished novel to sustain her. Relatable literary fiction. Highly recommended.
I loved this book and author; thought the fun summer read was just what I needed! Excellent cast of characters and quick, easy read!
I loved this book. It’s about grief and writing and life and love and I didn’t want it to end.
Wonderful book, one of my favorites. Love the Author!
Book Review: Writers & Lovers by Lily King (2020) (Chick Lit) 4 Stars ****
Thirty-one year old Casey Peabody starts out as a hot mess in Boston, Massachusetts with close to $100,000 in debt from student loans, extended vacations, and erratic employment. Now working as a waitress, Casey tries to finish the novel she’s been working on for six years. Her floundering love relationships have left her confused about who she is and what she wants. Having changed residences seventeen times and jobs umpteenth times, Casey looks to other people to define who she is.
Her mother recently passed away after a long-ago divorce from Casey’s flawed father whose current wife encourages her own agenda at Casey’s expense. Casey’s brother lives on the opposite coast, and her friends mostly consist of co-workers at the restaurant and people in the writing community. Her dating pool consists of commitment phobic men who often disappear for weeks at a time without a word while they sort it all out. They return just as confused as they left, leaving Casey to question her desirability and ability to attract love.
When Casey attends a seven week writing workshop, her options begin to expand. Becoming focused on her own needs gives Casey the impetus to make decisions for her own best interests. Instead of being distracted by whoever is in front of her, Casey is now able to discern who really cares and who looks at her as a means to their end.
As Casey learns to structure her time to become more productive, her writing career begins to flourish. Suddenly, Casey is the focus of positive attention and the recipient of job offers that promise to raise her living standards.
During a particularly revelatory conversation with a dear friend, Casey expresses her wish for the geese they are observing to leave now so she can witness the spectacle of the flock’s departure.
‘Casey says, ‘I want them to go right now.’
‘I know,’ Silas says. ‘They’ll go when they’re ready.’
A book in the library said that some Canada geese may travel as far as Jalisco, Mexico. My mother will like that, the long exhilarating trip, the foreign landing.
But others, the book said, will stay where they are for the winter. Those geese are already home.’ ”
Often written as a stream of consciousness, this book can be confusing. Who’s doing the talking and to whom are they speaking? Not always clear.
The ending surprised me because there was backstory info that should have been mentioned in previous chapters. The story’s resolution came out of left field. Light reading but with deep messages, this chick lit book captures the reality of many modern day millennial women with so many available options that it can be difficult to choose a path.
Wow! Wow! That’s two “Wows, readers stand up and take notice. I can say with great confidence that I have found my favorite book of 2020. And that’s saying something.
First a little editorial comment; the story is based on the trials and tribulations of a writer, a topic to which I can easily relate. Smooth, elegant prose I loved it. Thrillers and mysteries have much steeper story arcs that help hold the reader in the fictive dream. The arc in this book is all but nonexistent. The evolution of the character and the author’s wonderful prose hold the reader spellbound and help disguise the structure actually makes it disappear. This is difficult to accomplish, and this author makes it look easy.
The prose, the voice, the characterization makes this book the kind that becomes a comfortable old friend and stays with you forever. I can’t say that about too many books. This, after the point of view character (and the author by proxy) disparages one my favorite books/author–All the Pretty Horses. Writers and Lovers is about a 31yr. woman trying to find her way in life while dealing with writing, work, her angst over the dead mother and her relationships. None of these things take center stage and all are balanced equally. Well done. The conflicts all come together at the end in a very satisfying conclusion.
David Putnam Author of The Bruno Johnson Series.
I honestly don’t know how thirty-one-year-old Casey Peabody gets out of bed every morning! This girl has so many issues to deal with that she should be taking anti-depressants. Or at least be drinking too much. I already felt sorry for her in the first couple of pages. She lives in a potting shed and sleeps on a twin bed. A twin bed! Grown women should not be sleeping on twin beds. And she makes food in the bathroom in a toaster oven.
Casey is a writer who has not given up on her dream. She’s been trying to write a novel for six years, but she is so weighed down by student debt, failed relationships, unresolved issues with a dead mother and estranged from her father. She works a busy restaurant with a mixed bag of characters, has health issues and is currently juggling two new men. One man she is attracted to, but he is elusive. The other wants her to move in with him, but he has two young boys and to give her credit she was more concerned about their feelings than him.
This story had a very autobiographical feel to me. I’m not familiar with the author, but she made Casey so honest and relatable. I could feel Casey’s sorrow seeping out of the pages. But she just kept on peddling that old bike, just like she kept on trying to make a go of her life. At the end of the story I felt a great weight had been lifted off me.
I thank NetGalley and the publisher, Grove Atlantic, for the opportunity to read this lovely book. I gave it four stars.
A beautiful exploration of one young woman’s struggle to maintain her independence, her individuality and her artistic self against seemingly insurmountable emotional and financial hurdles. I cherished every word. Thank you Lily King for being such a phenomenal writer.
Can’t explain why this book resonated so much with me. You’re rooting for Casey….and you will be satisfied with the outcome. One of very few books I’ve read in a matter of 2 days.
4.5 Rewarding Stars!!
I absolutely loved Writers and Lovers!!! And to think I almost gave up early on.
At 30%, I was preparing to dnf. I gave it a few more pages, reached 31% and became transfixed. By 35-40%, I couldn’t put it down! Initially, I wasn’t enjoying Casey’s somewhat droll and melancholy observations and existence, but as her past and present were slowly revealed, I couldn’t get enough.
This story is introspective and filled with Casey’s quiet desperation and sadness. Those emotions were often being countered by witty banter and her many entertaining relationships (romantic, friendly, and otherwise.) Throughout, there were these seemingly disconnected moments that the author eventually connected and I found myself moved over and over again. That, along with Casey’s visceral and evocative observations and internalized emotions, had me feeling everything right along with her.
The author very slowly hooked me and when she did, her snare was permanently fixed. By the end, I felt like the near drudgery of the first 30% of the story was necessary for me to understand Casey as she contemplated her life, her writing woes, and her future. Without that, I may not have felt the reward of the remaining 70% and what has become a favorite reading experience.