If you were a writer and your favorite author announced that they were hosting a month-long retreat at their house for unpublished writers, would you If you were a writer and your favorite author announced that they were hosting a month-long retreat at their house for unpublished writers, would you apply? I'm a writer, and before reading The Writing Retreat, my answer would have been yes. Now, I'm not so sure...
Our narrator in The Writing Retreat, Alex, is languishing--at her job, in her dating life, in her friendships, and in her writing. The previous year she had a falling out with her best friend, Wren, and things have been miserable ever since. Then, through a series of events she would've never expected, she is accepted into a small group of writers who've been selected to attend a retreat hosted by the reclusive and famous feminist horror writer, Roza Vallo. The retreat will take place in February at her isolated 19th century mansion in upstate New York. But there are some rules: each writer has to start and complete a completely new manuscript, and they have to write 3,000 words a day, no exceptions. But what starts as a fast-paced but rewarding retreat devolves into a cutthroat and haunting exploration of ambition, envy, inspiration, female friendships, morality, and competition between peers. You will not believe where this book ends up!
I would recommend this book to readers of Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews, The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz, and A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch. It's a breakneck thriller set in the cutthroat world of writing and publishing, and I can't wait to see what Julia Bartz writes next!
**eARC provided by the publisher, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**...more
I love novels that take place in the literary world, especially if they're thrillers. The Other Black Girl, Who Is Maud Dixon, The Plot, and Vladimir I love novels that take place in the literary world, especially if they're thrillers. The Other Black Girl, Who Is Maud Dixon, The Plot, and Vladimir are a few I've read recently that have captured my heart. All of these literary thrillers have something in common that I eat up every time: protagonists who are so unhinged, so morally bankrupt as to seem completely unreal, but their self-made dilemmas are so entertaining that they always manage to endear themselves to me. What can I say: I love mess!
Oh, and what a mess we get in A Novel Obsession in the form of the main character Naomi Ackerman! Naomi is a twenty-something New York bookseller by day, aspiring writer by night. She's just entered into a new relationship with a Welsh mathematician Caleb, and things are going well for the most part. There's just one problem: she's run dry on writing inspiration. Enter: Caleb's ex-girlfriend, Rosemary Reid. After some harmless internet digging fueled by a heady mixture of innocent curiosity and insecurity, Naomi discovers that Rosemary is also in the literary world, as an editor. And that's not where the similarities end--they also kind of look alike. What starts as a quest for inspiration and information turns into a fabricated friendship with Rosemary that crosses the thin line between curious and creepy. Naomi has found her muse, and she'll go to any lengths to get the story she needs.
This book was so tense! Throughout the whole book, I felt for Naomi, I really did. This was her first real relationship and she is painfully insecure--it happens to the best of us. But she continuously crosses boundaries and invades Rosemary's life in a way that made me physically cringe! I loved it! Naomi was fascinating in her obsession, and while on the surface I wanted her to finally realize she was going too far, deep down I don't really want that--the mess is just too good! In Naomi, Barasch has crafted the perfect character to examine the intersections between curiosity, obsession, insecurity, trust, and privacy in interpersonal relationships.
This was a stunning debut, and I can't wait to see what Caitlin Barasch writes next!
**eARC provided by the publisher, Dutton Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**...more
If you'd like to read my full review, check out my blog here
So…WOW. This was my first novel by Francine Prose, and I can see why she’s such a renownedIf you'd like to read my full review, check out my blog here
So…WOW. This was my first novel by Francine Prose, and I can see why she’s such a renowned name in the literary world. This novel was slick, funny, and a tad bit terrifying! It ended up being a tense, slow-burn literary thriller and I couldn’t be happier with my reading experience. Simon was painstakingly naive, but you couldn’t help but root for him because he had the best intentions, for the most part. But as he starts to get caught up in the glitz and glam of publishing in the 50s, we see him become someone almost unrecognizable. He is trying so hard to be someone he’s not, modeling himself after people that should be nowhere near power, and it’s all so very cringe-inducing. Add in the antisemitism, his secret, and the disturbing goings-on with the author of the manuscript, and you get a novel of conspiracies that kept me on the edge of my seat. Prose gives the reader just enough to be suspicious, and the reveals at the end really shook me! Simon, while at times eye-roll-inducing, was a spectacular protagonist, and the first-person perspective really amped up the tension. There were some truly poignant examinations of ethics and morality in a professional setting, classism, racism, government conspiracies and corporate power, and finding your way in an industry that was never designed to see you succeed. In a way, this book reminded me of a literary fiction version of The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris in that book also tackled some of these issues (albeit in a less than popular way, if the book community has anything to say about it). This book also led me to look into the Rosenburg case, which was wild from start to finish—go look it up! After reading The Vixen, I’m definitely interested in reading more of Prose’s work. If her other stuff is as good as this, then I’m in for a treat!...more
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