After the Party
A Novel
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3.7 • 152 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
"Lisa Jewell’s writing is like a big warm hug. After the Party is a touching, insightful, and gripping story which I simply couldn’t put down." —Sophie Kinsella
From the New York Times bestselling author of None of This Is True comes an irresistible novel about the power of starting over.
Eleven years ago, Jem Catterick and Ralph McLeary fell deeply in love. They thought it would be forever, that they’d found their happy ending. As everyone agreed, they were the perfect couple. Then two became four, and an apartment became a house. Romantic nights out became sleepless nights in. And they soon found that life wasn’t quite so simple anymore. But through it all, Jem and Ralph still loved each other. Of course they did.
Now Jem is back at work part-time as a talent agent. Ralph, a successful painter, is struggling to come up with new, hopefully groundbreaking, work for his upcoming show. But the unimaginable has happened. Two people who were so right together are starting to drift apart. And in the chaos of family life, Jem feels like she’s losing herself, while Ralph, stuck on the sidelines, feels like he’s lost his muse altogether. Something has to change. As they try to find a way back to each other, back to what they once had, they both become momentarily distracted—but maybe it’s not too late to recapture happily ever after…
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jewell carves out a dreary universe of resentment, loneliness, and barely hidden rage for the couple she first introduced in Ralph's Party. After 11 years and two kids together (but no marriage), public relations agent Jem and artist Ralph discover they've become, not so surprisingly, different people, and are miserable together. The familiar is livened up with some engaging distractions for the needy pair. For Ralph, it's a trip to California to visit old pal Smith and his gorgeous girlfriend, Rosey, a Christian rocker. For Jem, there's secretive and somber Joel and his hot 25-year-old son, Lucas, both of whom she admires from afar and then closes in for a brush with intimacy while Ralph is busy locating his artistic mojo. While careening toward what could be certain splitsville, Jem and Ralph doggedly cling to the impossible dream of a conventional happy ending. Jewell manages a breezy traipse through some turgid terrain, thanks mostly to a solid cast who bring a freshness to a stale setup.
