If you need a happy ending, this book’s for you
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Casey Peabody is a thirty-one-year-old writer trying to finish and sell her first novel. Almost all of her writing friends have given up their art in favor of a more stable life, but not Casey. Beyond struggling with crushing student debt, panic attacks, medical issues but no health insurance, and life in a tiny garage apartment, these issues impact her:
- A mother who has twice abandoned her – once via an extramarital affair and then via an untimely death
- A father with a severe character flaw
- And lots of love interests including a poet who forgets to mention his marriage, a widower with two young children and an impressive writing career, and a flakey struggling novelist whose kisses knock her socks off
Writers are told to write what they know, so I am assuming Lily King has waited tables because much of this novel takes place in an upscale restaurant in Boston where Casey is a waitress. Details abound, leaving the reader as exhausted after a shift as Casey must be. As the Kirkus review of the book says, “Read this for insights about writing, about losing one’s mother, about dealing with a cranky sous-chef and a difficult four-top.”
I have to confess that I did not agree with all of Casey’s decisions. At thirty-one I would have chosen a more stable job and apartment, though perhaps those choices would make me a sell-out like her writer friends.
In spite of this, I was rooting for her! Thus, I was pleased when she found happily-ever-after by books end. Almost every single issue was resolved. Well, except perhaps for the fate of two little boys. And of course, her mother was still deceased. And her father was still a jerk.
There are a lot of reasons that this book was enjoyable, but especially in the time of coronavirus, if you are looking for happy ending, this book’s for you.
*****
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