I'm in awe of Jami Attenberg.ĭeeply perceptive and dryly hilarious, Attenberg's latest novel follows Andrea Bern: on the cusp of 40, single, child-free by choice, and reasonably content, she's living a life that still, even now, bucks societal conventions. It's that rare book I'm dying to give all my friends so we can discuss it deep into the night.

Hilarious, courageous and mesmerizing from page one, ALL GROWN UP is a little gem that packs a devastating wallop. I am happy to report that she most certainly did I read the first page of ALL GROWN UP and knew the novelist was going to outdo herself. Honest and hilarious, unflinching and unapologetic, Jami Attenberg writes what it is to be single, sexual, and childfree by choice. All Grown Up puts other novels in this vein to shame. as angry, sad, and raw as it is astute, hilarious and hopeful. Jami Attenberg's fifth novel is her best yet. Like Andrea herself, this novel is beautiful and brutal, intelligent and funny, frank and sexy Both the prose and the author's knowing excavation of one woman's desires, compromises, strengths and fears deserve closer attention. Jami Attenberg's sharply drawn protagonist, Andrea, has such a riveting, propulsive voice that ALL GROWN UP is hard to put down, but I urge you to resist reading it in one sitting. I didn't want Andrea as a best friend, but I felt enriched by her take on the world. This novel takes a hard look at what it means to be a woman living on her own terms.Įxpect to see a copy on every sunlounger this summer. Jami Attenberg, this book is outstandingĪttenberg knows how to make a reader laugh and feel. I have never in my life finished the last page of a book and wanted to open to page one and start all over again.

Thank you Jami.Īttenberg writes with a scalpel, and has presented one of the finest, and most unexpected, character studies you're likely to read all year. This is a good proud urban book, a sad and specific blast for the fearless to read. Is all life junk - sparkly and seductive and devastating - just waiting to be told correctly by someone who will hold our hand and walk with us a while confirming that what we're living is true. a delight and a superb character study.Īttenberg is one of our finest contemporary storytellers, and here, with her trademark clever, witty voice, she tackles the age-old question plaguing people of all ages: When do we know if we're actually all grown up? Attenberg has created a tangle of characters with flesh on their bones, and Andrea is the most multifaceted of them all. Positively bristles with energy and newness. Smart, heartfelt, and really freakin' funny.

Saint mazie roman jami attenberg