Let's Not Do That Again
A Novel
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
"Hilarious, suspenseful, and whip smart."
—Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
Meet the Harrisons!
A mother running for Senate, a son running from his problems, and a daughter running straight into trouble...
From Grant Ginder, the author of The People We Hate at the Wedding, comes a poignant, funny, and slyly beguiling novel which proves that, like democracy, family is a messy and fragile thing —perfect for fans of Veep’s biting humor, the family drama of Succession, and the joys of Kevin Wilson’s Nothing to See Here.
Nancy Harrison is running for Senate, and she’s going to win, goddamnit. Not that that’s her slogan, although it could be. She’s said all the right things. Passed all the right legislation. Chapped her lips kissing babies. There’s just one problem: her grown children.
Greta and Nick Harrison are adrift. Nick is floundering in his attempts to write a musical about the life of Joan Didion (called Hello to All That!). And then there’s his little sister Greta. Smart, pretty, and completely unmotivated, allowing her life to pass her by like the shoppers at the Apple store where she works.
One morning the world wakes up not to Nancy making headlines, but her daughter, Greta. She’s in Paris. With extremist protestors. Throwing a bottle of champagne through a beloved bistro’s front window. In order to save her campaign, not to mention her daughter, Nancy and Nick must find Greta before it’s too late.
Smart, funny, and surprisingly tender, Let's Not Do That Again shows that family, like politics, can hurt like a mother.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ginder (The People We Hate at the Wedding), a former congressional intern and speechwriter for White House chief of staff John Podesta, delivers an effervescent family drama about a man's attempts to salvage his mother's Senate run after a PR disaster. In Paris, Greta Harrison hurls a bottle through a restaurant window during a political protest. In Manhattan, Greta's congresswoman mother, Nancy, attempts to deflect the fallout of her daughter's headline-grabbing behavior as the story jeopardizes her Senate campaign. She's the kind of politician who spouts unapologetic lines like "America is disappointing... that's why we do what we do," and until Greta's stunt, that approach has worked. Nancy feverishly appeals to her perpetually single gay son Nick, urging him to put aside his work writing a Joan Didion musical to bring Greta home from Paris. The task is tougher than it looks, but in Ginder's hands, it yields devilish hilarity. Greta is under the spell of swarthy, seductive Xavier, a celebrity-seeking fascist troll, but he's no match for Nick and Nancy, who swoop in to settle some unfinished family business. Ginder dexterously describes the machinations of his caffeine-fueled lead and lights up the pages with bubbly, rapid-fire dialogue among such supporting characters as Nancy's assistant, Cate, and Xavier's other gal pal, Colette. Politics and blood loyalty can become a slippery slope, but here they're a perfect combination. This smart and seamless comedy is nonstop fun.
