The Not Wives
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
An Occupy-era New York City novel following three women. “A provocative and well-told story about chosen community, friendship, and human frailty.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
The Not Wives traces the lives of three women as they navigate the Occupy Wall Street movement and each other. Stevie is a nontenured professor and recently divorced single mom; her best friend Mel is a bartender, torn between her long-term girlfriend and her desire to explore polyamory; and Johanna is a homeless teenager trying to find her way in the world, who bears shared witness to a tragedy that interlaces her life with Stevie’s.
In the midst of economic collapse and class conflict, late-night hookups and long-suffering exes, the three characters piece together a new American identity founded on resistance—against the looming shadow of financial precarity, the gentrification of New York, and the traditional role of wife.
“Audacious and exhilarating in its candor, The Not Wives captures the heady mix of pleasures and agonies necessary to turn one’s life in a new, truer direction. Carley Moore attends to the complexities of urban living and activism with riveting clarity.” —Idra Novey, award-winning author of Those Who Knew
“The Not Wives is gritty, sexy, very queer, literary social realism that’s up-all-night compelling—just what I want from a novel set in NYC in the time of Occupy, with its sprawling cast of adjuncts, bartenders, poets, single parents, little kids, homeless teenagers, and serious organizers embroiled in various romantic and economic complications. When we say report back, this is what we mean!” —Andrea Lawlor, author of Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Moore's intriguing debut novel (after the collection 16 Pills) takes place in New York City in 2011 against the cultural and political backdrop of Occupy Wall Street. Stevie is a writing teacher at NYU, co-parenting her lively daughter, Sasha, with her friendly soon-to-be ex, Aaron, and figuring out her romantic and sexual relationships postseparation. Over two days, her life changes dramatically she witnesses a young girl jumping to her death, and she is informed that the "Professor in Residence" program, which allowed her and Sasha to live in a faculty apartment in the dorms, is being canceled. Meanwhile, Stevie's best friend Mel has just opened up her relationship with her long-term girlfriend and is drawn to a male chef at the bar where she works. A chance encounter in Washington Square Park leads Stevie and Mel to meet a teenager named Johanna, who is living in the park with her older boyfriend after running away from an abusive home. Their lives intersect again and become intertwined when Stevie realizes Johanna was also a witness to the falling girl. As the Occupy movement gains momentum, Stevie, Mel, and Johanna critically examine their lives and choices in hopes of creating a world for themselves and their loved ones. Though longer than it needs to be, Moore's novel is nonetheless ambitious and immersive.