Writers & Lovers
By Lily King
- Release Date: 2020-03-03
- Genre: Literary Fiction
Description
#ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick as Featured on Today
Emma Roberts Belletrist Book Club Pick
A New York Times Book Review’s Group Text Selection
"I loved this book not just from the first chapter or the first page but from the first paragraph... The voice is just so honest and riveting and insightful about creativity and life." —Curtis Sittenfeld
An extraordinary new novel of art, love, and ambition from Lily King, the New York Times bestselling author of Euphoria
Following the breakout success of her critically acclaimed and award-winning novel Euphoria, Lily King returns with another instant New York Times bestseller: 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.
Reviews
I wanted to like this more…but death death death!!
2By Mih_HallI really wanted to like this book but it seems to me that Lily King believes that adulthood is a graveyard. I mean my goodness why does EVERY SINGLE person Casey comes across have a very close relative/person who has died?! It’s like Lily thinks that trauma can only be tied to death. It flattens the human experience and some point while reading I just started keeping count of how many dead bodies have been discussed. It became a distraction and death lost its meaning. I literally spent the book being like well I wonder if we will get a dead father? Perhaps a dead bestie? Disappointing because I think this book could have been something much more interesting.Excellent
5By Coco Puff xoAbsolutely loved this book! Never read anything by this author and now I want to read everything! Loved the characters and connections and Oscar’s kids!An Intimate Conversation
5By cecielphLily King writes in way that feels like a conversation with a good friend. Sharing intimate thoughts and feelings as the main character takes you along with her life experiences. It’s a beautifully well-written ride. Casey is an easily relatable character to know and love.Love!
5By bebe_555I love the way King leads me along like a child on a walk, holding my hand, keeping me safe but still encouraging me to jump up on the the edge of the walk to balance as long as I can on the precipice. This book made me feel alive and sad and happy, nervous, shy, excited. I loved it!An emotional rollercoaster well worth reading.
5By Dr. BeltI found the heroine compelling in her complexity and determined search for an authentic life. The author’s writing is unique and colorful - often funny, something evoking powerful emotion, and ultimately joyful. Full of highs and lows, like most of our lives, I found this book inspiring and deeply satisfying - tho it meant several nights of late reading and anxious dreaming.🥹Good
3By d. ia. naIt’s a nice book, it just didn’t wow me ykloved this book
5By k.k.p.lThis book is written so beautifully. It is realistic, witty, and relatable. I loved it and could not recommend it more.AMAZING
5By Kailani0000AMAZINGEh
2By sel2889I read the first chapter and it didn’t hook me. It’s kind of slow and I feel like there’s no real pull towards the character. I didn’t continue to chapter two…So depressing
1By isabel CBI couldn’t even finish it… why would I want to read about a person being so miserable. If you want to read about depressing people this is for you.Incredible Book
5By lujoccThis is a modern classic!Disjointed but interesting
4By JtCOLoVery rambling, but I believe intentionally so.Begins slow, then picks up
4By Jamiam987You feel you almost know Casey...... enjoyed it thoroughlyAmazing!
5By lulu chopinCouldn’t put it down.Addicting!
5By R.FieldI just started to read again and its usually non fiction but this book was so addicting. I finished in 3 days!Memorably Moving
5By AllardMallardCamilla “Casey” is one of those characters that you can’t easily shake off. She’s as stubborn as your favorite friend, as broken as you’ve felt at least once, as committed as you would like to be to your passion, & as beaten down as life can do to us all. I love the way Ms. King’s storytelling transported me, not only to a time before tools of instant communication, but also to the inner-workings of the writer community. We’ve heard, seen, and read the story of the actor striving for her “big break” so many times, it’s become quite stale. However, the writer’s equivalent: struggling to find the words to fill the pages, then the subsequent battle of transforming those pages into a tangible product, felt like a refreshing experience to consume (or devour in less than 2 days). Beautifully written and memorably moving, “Writers & Lovers” has quickly become my favorite book I’ve read this year.Beautifully written
5By remfamiliaAbsolutely loved this book... I found myself getting identifying with the author.I could relate to many of the emotions pertaining to the mother daughter relationship and lossSpectacular
5By misslilyflowerBy far one of my favorite books ever written.

