Her Turn
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- € 10,99
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One of The Globe and Mail’s “Summer 2021 books preview: 40 hot reads that will captivate you”
One of Maclean’s’ “20 books you should read this summer”
For fans of Nora Ephron and Jennifer Weiner, here is Katherine Ashenburg's witty, contemporary new novel about a forty-something newspaper columnist navigating her bold next chapter, set in Washington against the 2015 US presidential primary.
In the autumn of 2015, forty-something journalist Liz is working at a national newspaper in Washington, D.C., where Hillary Clinton’s run for the presidency is the talk of the town. The divorced parent of a college-age son, she appears to lead a full, happy life: devoted friends, a job she adores, a breezy dating life. But deep inside, Liz is stalled in neutral, stuck in a clandestine affair with her boss and still brooding on her marriage, which ended in betrayal, hurt and anger ten years ago.
Liz’s job is to edit “My Turn,” a column of personal essays from readers. Her tidy life is upended when a submission about a marital squabble arrives from Nicole, the woman who had an affair with Liz’s husband and is now his wife. Wife Two has no idea that she is sending an essay to Wife One, and Liz keeps this secret as she engages in an increasingly personal critique of the piece. But the existence of the essay destabilizes Liz, and she starts acting erratically—publishing provocative essays that infuriate her colleagues, investing in a pile of unread self-help books about “forgiveness” and indulging in questionable romantic decisions. Soon she is caught in a tangled web of her own making, with no easy escape.
A smart, wise and witty novel with moving depths beneath its delightful surface.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ashenburg's gratifying latest (after Sofie & Cecilia) follows a journalist who starts a dubious friendship with her ex-husband's wife. On the surface, Liz appears to be doing well: she has a close relationship with her adult son, Peter, and edits the popular "My Turn" column at a prestigious Washington, D.C., newspaper. However, her life is rattled when Nicole, the woman her ex-husband Sidney left her for 10 years earlier, submits an essay about her married life to "My Turn" without knowing Liz is the column's editor. Liz, posing as another editor, begins an ethically questionable email correspondence with Nicole to find out more about her life with Sidney. As the communications continue, Liz wonders why she tends to push away eligible suitors in favor of pursuing emotionless affairs with her married boss or the narcissistic poet she's entangled with. With her life unraveling, Liz realizes her inability to move past Sidney's betrayal threatens both her romantic relationships and her connection with Peter, who distances himself from Liz once he realizes the extent of her resentment of his father. Liz lands as a strong character with complex motivations and a believable personal evolution who transcends the often caricatured figure of the jilted ex-wife. With its fruitful examination of betrayal and forgiveness, Ashenburg's engrossing latest should appeal to fans of Nora Ephron.
