This book was so different from what I usually read, but I really enjoyed it.

The story follows 31-year-old Casey, who is feeling alone amongst tides of grief, following the death of her mother. Very much a creative soul, Casey has always struggled to find her place in the world, and at 31 she still feels out of place and isolated.

Through the course of the novel, she finds herself becoming attached to two (very different) men, and much of the middle and latter parts of the book follow her feelings towards these two men, as well as her continuing determination to reach her own creative dreams.

I totally loved Casey and found myself completely drawn into her life, desperately wanting her to find happiness at the end. A great read!

I loved this, I devoured it. The conflict between love, life, art, I loved Casey. She was so clever and so cleverly written. A child prodigy, a creative soul, she struggled to make her way in life, financially, emotionally, I championed Casey from the start. When she simultaneously fell for two different men while struggling, against the odds, to achieve creative fulfilment in her life we wonder will she ever be happy. King wrote a heart felt, witty and clever novel. It sucked me in and kept me entranced. I really really enjoyed this read, so different from much of my reading, and i absolutely adored Casey. It’s my first from King but certainly won’t be my last.

I loved this book. It's about grief and writing and life and love and I didn't want it to end.

https://www.bookbub.com/books/writers-and-lovers-by-lily-king-2020-03-16

The Wives ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

What did I read?! This book was insane. Absolutely fantastic. My mind is muddled. In the best way.

A thriller like no other. It was gripping, compulsive and page turning.

I loved the plot, I loved the characters, I loved everything about this book.

So cleverly done. Thursday was fantastic. Her character was absolutely brilliant. My heart felt for her. Imagining what you would do in her situation. You couldn't help but hope for her.

Summary
The story is about Casey Peabody, a 31-year-old aspiring writer finding her way in contemporary New England after the death of her mother leaves her feeling lost and alone. As she reflects on her career ambitions and deals with a crushing student loan, she also reevaluates her priorities in love as she finds herself in the middle of a love triangle.

My take on it
I really enjoyed reading this book, probably because I could take pleasure in
peeking into a normal mundane life in late 20th century New England and get away from our current chaotic situation.

My favourite aspect of this book was the care King tool in building Casey’s character. As a narrator, she felt close and real through her many lows and fewer thrilling highs. Struggling to finish her first novel, overcome by grief and seeing how her life is at the brink of collapse, Casey is perseverant and true to herself.

This novel is mainly about the sacrifices needed to hold onto a dream, and how every choice can take us a step closer to the life we imagine for ourselves. Casey encapsulates the difficulties in believing in oneself and not to be sidetracked and overwhelmed by others’ choices and successes or by unexpected tragedies happening to us.
But this book is about many other things: grief, love and passion; desire, determination, and finding one's way; and also about craving love, family, and success.

This novel is full of lyricism and symbolism, which become carriers of a story that is absolutely compelling without needing to be innovative.
King is a master in introducing trivial conversations and elements of what seems like another reality at this point, each of those carrying deeply symbolic meanings nonetheless. In King’s writing, a ring is a reminder of losing one’s mother, geese show freedom and the passing of time, a bridge the fracture of a previous life and the attempts of building a new one.

Casey’s story is emotional, full of heart and soul. Whilst she brings all the pathos, her story is sprinkled with humour.
Perfectly measured and spread details paint a tragic story that is also romantic and heartwarming. Despite her being messy and constantly anxious, she is sympathetic and I often found myself wanting to give her a hug and call her a friend.

My verdict
I didn’t know this was exactly the book I needed to get lost into for a couple of days. You probably don’t know it either, so follow my advice: find a cozy place, grab King’s latest novel, and lose yourself in its pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

It took me a little while to get into this book but in the end the narrative pulled me in and I couldn't put it down. It probably helps that I am the same age as the protagonist and share more than a few of her anxieties! I think the depiction of dealing with grief and the mental health pressures of being a millennial with debts and very little family support were very on the nose, and the whole narrative felt very realistic.

On reading the preview of this i was really looking forward to reading this, it was an enjoyable but on reading the first half i really need to persevere, this was i'm afraid a bit of a slog, past halfway and the book seemed to start to get in it's stride and was really enjoyable and i finished in it in a day. What i did enjoy was checking out the other author recommendations in the book, an interesting way to be introduced to a new author. Just ordering Woodcutters by Thomas Bernhard.

A lockdown gem. I raced through this novel of love, loss, choice, grief, anxiety. It's also a book about books and writers, ideal for us bibliophiles and wannabe novelists. Lily's writing really draws you in, so you feel every emotion of Casey, the main character - I think I had tears in my eyes at all the right moments. Her characterisations are spot on, everything feels so real. Apart from - why is it in novels that the single girl suddenly has 2 lovely men to choose from, who both adore her. Why does this not happen in real life?!

Brilliant, deep, clever writing about how to write and live and grow up, and who is worth taking on the journey with you.

I devoured American writer, Lily King’s latest novel, Writers & Lovers: the story of aspiring writer Casey, who is navigating grief and disillusionment, as she strives to make her mark as a writer and find her way in a world in which she’s no longer ‘the youngest kind of adult’. Wry, moving and funny, I’ll be recommending this novel to all.

Writers and Lovers is set in 1997 and follows 31 year old Casey, who recently lost her mother unexpectedly, who falls for two very different men at the same time. She is trying to finish the novel she's been working on for the past 6 years whilst maintaining a job as a waitress.

As well as being a book about writing a book, this is a book about love. It’s a vibrant his novel by Lily King is fresh, vibrant, and enjoyable read that is very well written.

This was a change from my usual reads and I am thoroughly glad I gave it a go.

Writers and Lovers is an excellent novel following Casey who has returned to Massachetutus following the bereavement of her mother and an affair. She is writing a novel whilst paying the bills by working at a local restaurant.

Casey is 31 and in a bit of a rutt, suddenly finidng herself unable to escape adulthood. The novels pendulum swings between her relationship with two men, Silas and Oscar. Two contratsting men who offer two very different things.

Each of the characters in this novel have suffered a lot but it’s a testament to the author that the book is far from dour. King is able to make this a compelling novel, making each conversation intimate and worth engaging in. Non of the characters are particularly likeable but each one has a story worth listning to. At 31, I disagree this is a character grappling onto last days of youth, but trying to navigate a world without guidance and seeing how keen people, or men in particular feel in a position to offer it up.

Some of the best parts of the novel come when Casey is alone and is writing, perhaps her true love in her sanctuary of her home. When King writes about writers, reading books, and that process its often when some of the novels best excerts can be found. “Nearly every guy ive dated believed they should already be famous and believed that greatness was their destiny and they were already behind schedule”. In these moments its hard not to fall in love with Kings writing and there is plenty more like it. Its one of the finest novels I have read in 2020 and worth seeking out.

I could not get into the story, from the beginning.
It just dragged, and the plot was not enough to keep me hooked. I could not follow the story as it was just not compelling enough.

This was my first Lily King book but I will definitely be looking through her back catalogue after this.

Writers and Lovers is the story of Casey, a writer and waitress living in Massachusetts in 1997, She’s struggling with the death of her mother, trying to write her novel, living in a glorified shed and swamped in debt.

This is a quiet book, which is exactly the kind of thing I love. Casey is immediately likeable while not being unrealistic and I found myself very engaged in her, regardless of the story. However I did find it a bit hard to get into - I struggled at first with the range of characters and also with what was happening in the present and what was in the past. I also didn’t realise for ages this was not set in the present day! (This is one of its charms though - with the exception of the emphasis on phone calls, it Casey’s struggles definitely felt contemporary).

Lily King is a wonderful writer - I found her depiction of grief throughout the book so realistic and moving. I also particularly loved the scene in the restaurant - I loved the details of life as a waitress, even the more mundane details were fascinating to me.

This is a quiet, thoughtful, introspective novel which I would definitely recommend.

Casey, a woman in her early 30s, is struggling to finish her first novel. She is seriously in debt, living in a mouldy shed, working as a waitress to barely cover her rent, with few prospects and no health insurance, all the while grieving the recent death of her mother, her estrangement from her father and a short-lived love affair that have left her barely being able to function on a day to day basis. Casey’s novel is a constant spectre but this isn’t a novel about a novel, at least Casey isn’t the usual tortured self-absorbed (male) artist that is usually a feature of novels about novels. King writes Casey’s grief and struggle in such a tender, humorous and relatable way that I was drawn to her from the outset. I loved the descriptions of Casey’s restaurant shifts, which transformed the tedium of low paid table service into something quite magical. The descriptions of the act of writing really chimed with me too, without falling on cliche (which writing about writing so often does). Alongside Casey, Writers & Lovers is littered with so many wonderful, well drawn characters. Love triangles rarely have you rooting for all parties to find their happy ever after. While satisfying, the ending didn’t quite work for me, tying things up a little too prettily, which didn’t feel in keeping with the rest of the novel. This is the first Lily King novel I’ve read and I’ll certainly be seeking out her other work along with a number of the novels that get mentioned along Casey’s journey.

Favourite line/passage:
But I can’t go out with a guy who’s written eleven and a half pages in three years. That kind of thing is contagious.

Many thanks to Pan Macmillan/Picador/Grove Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. #WritersLovers #NetGalley

The title of this book just about sums it up.

The young woman, Casey, who is the narrator , is going through grief after the death of her mother. At the same time she is trying to juggle debts( some incurred as a student) , write a novel , work as a waitress and navigate a triangular love life.

In someways the parts I found most interesting were the descriptions of her waiting job. The grinding pace of waiting on many tables with sometimes awkward customers were well described. She has both allies and enemies within the restaurant as she has both critics and supporters of her writing.

She is spiralling down into some sort of depression/anxiety and has to use a special technique to combat panic attacks.

Enter two men . Both are writers, but Oscar is an older established writer who has been widowed. . Casey makes a connection with his grieving sons .
The other man, Silas, is younger and more unpredictable but has an energy to him. She finds that his (less recent ) experience of grief resonates with her in it rawness.

Casey then has to decide on the direction she wants her life to take.

I found this book to be well written and engaging but some of the plot somewhat predictable ( what happens to the novel and how she starts a new career with great success and no difficulties)

I didn't find the description of her grief the most moving and visceral I have ever read but enjoyed the detail of the restaurant particularly.

The writing about the writing process is also interesting . Is this a new A Room of One's Own?

When I wrote recently about loving Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge, a couple of blogging friends alerted me to another book which Strout had described as 'gorgeous' - Lily King's Writers and Lovers. I rushed to it immediately and was not disappointed.  I am in good company - over 13,000 reviewers on Goodreads have given this book four or five star reviews.

Here's the blurb:

'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.'

If I had read this first, I don't think I would have picked up the book.  This sounds a bit light and frothy to me. Nothing wrong with that at all; it's just not a style of writing to which I am usually drawn. But luckily, because of the recommendations from trusted sources, I did not even look at the blurb before plunging in.

Right from the start, we experience Casey's creative agony:

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

I can relate to this in a small way.  I have found over the years that doing something creative each day, however small - perhaps knitting just one row - is an essential part of good mental wellbeing for me.

Another aspect of Casey's creative struggle is the need to be alone to write, set against  the pull of developing new relationships. She has to wrestle with her inner and outer worlds, trying to achieve some kind of balance or harmony. Neither feel particularly comfortable domains for her.  The death of her mother crowds and clouds her thoughts; the challenges and practicalities of trying to make ends meet burden her daily routines.

None of this is helped in any way by the men in her life.  She is subject to all kinds of verbal and physical abuse from pretty much all the men in the book: her father; her new lovers; her boss; her colleagues. It's utterly exhausting for her and the reader. But we are rooting for her and want her to triumph.

The only slight wrinkle for me in the narrative is that Casey is apparently in her early 30s, but she reads much younger to me.  I had to keep reminding myself of her age - something which seemed necessary to keep her in the right context for the narrative.  But this is a minor detail and in no way detracts from the overall enjoyment of the story.

Let me close with another aspect of this book which totally endeared it to me.  Woven through the narrative is a relationship which Casey has with a flock of geese.  I find these birds absolutely fascinating and one of my most favourite books (which I have mentioned in previous posts loads of times, sorry!) is The Snow Geese by William Fiennes. So any book which includes geese is on to a good thing from the start in my view. Here's how Casey feels about them:

'I love these geese.  They make my chest tight and full and help me believe that things will be all right again, that I will pass through this time as I have passed through other times, that the cast and threatening blank ahead of me is a mere spectre, that life is lighter and more playful than I'm giving it credit for.'

This is a beautifully written novel, one to savour and linger over. I also enjoyed all the bookish references and have come away with some titles for my To Be Read list. So a winning read all round, and a big thanks to Ann and Susan for their recommendations.

'It's a particular kind of pleasure, of intimacy, loving a book with someone.'

Set in the late 1990s, 31 year old Casey has ended up back in Massachusetts after a failed love affair has left her devastated. Her mother has recently died and she is struggling with grief, loneliness and the worry of debt and where her life is going. She works in an upmarket restaurant, Iris as a waitress and lives in a tiny rented and damp apartment belonging to a friend of her brother. Her one constant is the novel she has been writing for the last 6 years.
And then one evening she meets Silas at a book signing and they get on well but before they can get together he has to leave town. A few weeks later Oscar, a published author walks into the restaurant with his two adorable little boys. He is older than her and is grieving the death of his wife. Casey finds herself at the point of a love triangle, one with Silas who drives her mad with lust but is unreliable and Oscar the safe option, who comes with a lovely house and a ready made family.
This is literary fiction at its best. We are completely immersed in Casey's life and her every feeling. We hear about the unexpected death of her mother and the grief Casey is still feeling. Her pain is raw and will resonate with anyone who has lost someone close to them. We hear how she went to a writers retreat shortly after her mothers death and fell hard for a poet called Luke. When he left the retreat, the number he gives her doesn't work and someone tells her he is married. She returns to Massachusetts with a broken heart as well as her grief.
There is a fabulous cast of characters around her. I liked how she details the other writers she has known who have fallen by the wayside as they have fallen into conventional careers and relationships. Best friend and fellow writer Muriel is supportive and encouraging and she has a lovely friendship with Harry at the restaurant.
She is a bit startled to find herself in two relationships at once. Silas is an unknown to her but she feels deeply attracted to him. Oscar is the safer option and she is fond of his boys. I loved being privy to her decision process.
I loved my short time with Casey and really enjoyed hearing about her life. Beautiful and captivating writing, this was a wonderful read.

A great read!
Casey has been writing a novel for years but not getting very far.
She is mourning the death of her mother and the end of a passionate love affair whilst working in a restaurant and living in a rented shed.
This is a brilliant story. Casey is really believable and likeable so I found myself rooting for her from the start.
It could be viewed as a coming of age story although admittedly Casey is 31!
I would definitely recommend it. An excellent read.

I enjoyed this book so much that I actually sought out her other books! Honestly just a really engaging, pleasant story. Nicely written, with a plot that was simple but smart.