Lily King: Writers & Lovers (Grove/Atlantic Inc. 2020)
Many thanks to 21. Szazad Kiadó for sending me the book!
Casey is 31 years old and she recently lost her mother. Until now, she has lived a nomadic life: since university, she has moved 11 times and had 17 jobs, but now, after the death of her mother, she feels truly stateless, despite returning to Massachusetts. Due to her loans, she has a debt of 73 thousand dollars and lives in a miserable sublet. She is estranged from her father, her brother lives far away, and her friends keep getting married or stop writing, just as one recovers from an illness. She writes in the morning and works as a waiter in the afternoon and evening. Her love life is in ruins, but now she has also met two men: the young Silas and the established writer Oscar, who is a widower and raises his two sons alone. Casey is faced with a decision. The only thing that is constant and stable in her life is her book, which she has been writing for 6 years now. She really feels at home there.
Casey’s story is not a romance novel, but rather a story about writing and being a writer. About the easily written chapters and the sufferer ones. In addition to the lyrical descriptions of the environment, we get to know Casey’s life so far, including the happy and sad moments as well. Wild geese often appear, carrying the promise of hope and the future. Although I have not read this type of book before, it was very interesting to read this development novel.
Lily King grew up in Massachusetts, studied English literature and creative writing in university, then took a job as a high school English teacher in Valencia, Spain, and began writing her first novel. Eight years, ten moves and many bookshop, restaurant and teaching jobs later, her first novel, The Pleasing Hour, was published in 1999, which won several awards. Writers and Lovers is her fifth book. Her novels have been translated to 20 languages so far.
