Writers & Lovers (utgåvan 2020)

Casey is a struggling writer living in her brother's friends garage and waiting tables so that she can write. After six years she finally finished her novel. Now will anyone buy it? While she waits for the verdict she deals with grief over her mother's sudden death in the previous year, giant student load debts, indecision in love, and a breast lump. Happy ending, but the middle part is sure depressing. ( )

WRITERS AND LOVERS is written by award-winning author, Lily King.
I read this book for Maine Public Radio’s ‘All Books Considered’ Book Club. (Winter 2021)
The book has been described as “Delightful…An unmistakable broadside against fiction’s love affair with macho strivers.” “Haunting, incisive” “Poignant and heartfelt” “A defining classic for struggling young writers.”
“Blindsided by her mother’s sudden death, and wrecked by a recent love affair, thirty-one year old Casey Peabody has arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the summer of 1997 without a plan beyond a determination to live a creative life.”

I am not a professional/published author but I think the thoughts, the feelings, the mental state of Casey is probably spot-on. That doesn’t mean that I like her character very much. I was somewhat confused, bewildered and unsympathetic much of the time I was reading. I did like the person she developed into or maybe I should say she found her original self and it blossomed. But most of the time I was just shaking my head. The other characters did not impress me either - Oscar is a jerk. Even his children, pitiful as they may seem, are a bit unlikable because of their neediness. Luke (from her Red Barn days) was another lying jerk and I didn’t get the attraction with Silas.The restaurant staff seemed very unlikable and impatient. But Muriel seemed to be an honest and helpful friend who quite literally saved Casey’s life.

I did like all the extras in the book - the reading group guide, the new essay written by Lily King, the lovely geese drawings. I liked the playfulness that marked Casey’s interactions with John & Jasper. I liked the ‘feel’ of the book with its heavier paper and the ‘look’ of the book.
Probably a good ‘book club’ choice. *** ( )

"I don't write because I think I have something to say. I write because if I don't, everything feels even worse."

31-year-old Casey Peabody, narrator of Writers & Lovers, is on an emotional rollercoaster. She's between her dreams and their realization as she doggedly pursues her desires - success as a writer, love, and family. She endures losses - her mother, her job, her apartment - and disappointments - men, men, and men. Lily doesn't write about the "what" so much as she writes about how it felt. I went along for the ride, and it was worth it for its emotional intelligence.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Stacey Glemboski, borrowed from the library using hoopla.

Around the year in 52 books challenge notes:
#48. A book published in 2020 ( )

Loved "Euphoria" by this author, but this left me completely cold. A single young woman in her 30's is trying to become a writer. She is currently a waitress living in a small rented apartment of a friend of her brother. Really nothing much happens in this book except her internal angst about trying to find herself. None of the characters are particularly likeable and i just could not get into it. Would not have finished except book club selection. ( )

It took me awhile to get into Writers and Lovers. I think the amount of characters overwhelmed me. Plus I was reading too slowly and inattentively.

Once I sped up and gave it my attention I found it to be smart, moving and very enjoyable.

My heart went out to Casey and the situation she was in. But I could see that her intelligence would lead her onto a good path. Despite issues with both her mother and father, she learned many skills as well as common sense from them.

This is the type of book that makes me know that going with your gut feeling is often better than depending on conventional wisdom.

Good read.