Another Marvelous Thing

Laurie Colwin

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Publication Date: 14/11/2024 ISBN: 9781474615990 Category: Books

Paperback / Softback £9.99

Mr B's review

I’m amazed to have only just even heard of Laurie Colwin – appropriately described as the Barbara Pym of 70s New York.

I really enjoyed this. It’s got all the makings of a smart and witty Nora Ephron rom-com, you could even say like an 80s Sally Rooney, and could easily be for fans of Ann Patchett and Elizabeth Strout.

The story follows Billy and Francis who are in love and happily married, but to other people. They are embarking on an affair that they know feels so right and yet so simultaneously wrong. Billy is a slightly cold, level-headed character. She’s not interested in fashion, parties or nice restaurant meals. Francis on the other hand is older, sophisticated, and stylish. They are both total opposites and yet can’t deny that what they feel for each other is love, at the expense of their marriages to Vera and Grey. They meet regularly at Billy’s place, making love on the sofa in her little study when Grey is away, or meeting in the kinds of shady looking restaurants they would never normally go to, for fear of being seen.

It’s a very claustrophobic look at a relationship as most of the novel centres around only Billy and Francis. It’s very much about the experiences we have in life and the people we give ourselves to that make us who we are. But also about how we are so much more than the defined roles we give to ourselves, and ultimately how little you can really truly know someone. There will always be parts of ourselves we choose to keep hidden.

I can’t wait to read more Laurie Colwin that’s for sure. – Emma

Description

‘Warm, wise, witty, and just plain fun’ Maggie Shipstead

At a perfectly ordinary cocktail party, Francis is introduced to Billy and – although it slips right by him at the time – he falls in love with her at once.

Billy is a serious, often glum person. An economic historian, she is indifferent to a great many things (clothes, food, home decor), frowns easily and is frequently irritated.

Francis is older. He likes routine and a well-run household; he likes to pay for dinner, open car doors and call Billy at night to make sure she is safe.

Both are happily married – but not to each other.

So begins a whirlwind love affair, perfectly captured in this frank, funny irresistible novel, from its fabulous inception to its inevitable end.

A W&N Essential with an introduction by Caroline O’Donoghue

Publisher Review

Laurie Colwin is such a wise, witty and simply enchanting novelist — Nigella Lawson These should be read one at a time, perhaps just before bed as a respite from an especially trying day * New York Times * Virtually flawless . . . A tour de force * Los Angeles Times * Whether or not their love goes on is unimportant. The joy is in the intimacy, the utter weirdness and intensity of their connection * Lit Hub * An infallible recipe for happiness: read as much Laurie Colwin as you can — Emma Straub If anyone wrote eloquently and magnificently about affairs of the heart, it was Laurie Colwin * San Francisco Chronicle *