Not only does Casey's story capture how hard it can be to believe in yourself, stay the course, and just finish the damn book when all your friends are getting paychecks and promotions, marrying and having babies - but also, reassurance that you don't have to break the mold to write a great book. In fact, King's novel - about the choices and sacrifices involved in holding onto a dream - would be a worthy addition to writing program curricula. There's nothing exotic or startlingly new about this story, but Writers & Lovers is stellar proof that literature doesn't have to be groundbreaking to be absolutely compelling. The novel keeps us wondering which way Casey will veer. Muriel, one of her few friends who hasn't given up on writing - and a shining example of female friendship - brings Casey to a book signing at which she meets two love interests who come to represent her two roads in a yellow wood: Oscar, an older, famous author who has been raising his adorable (bordering on cloying) sons solo since he lost his young wife to cancer, and one of Oscar's workshop students, a high school teacher with a chipped front tooth and a rusted-out car. There's nothing exotic or startlingly new about this story, but 'Writers & Lovers' is stellar proof that literature doesn't have to be groundbreaking to be absolutely compelling. By the time she bikes back to her damp, converted garden shed in Brookline, it's after midnight.

for the 'mindless distractions' of her demanding waitressing job. When she manages to sleep at all, she gets up early to walk her landlord's dog so she can make it back to her desk by 6:30 to put in a few hours of writing before biking three miles into Cambridge, Mass. No one could accuse Casey of lack of discipline.

She's a weepy, anxious mess - yet so sympathetic you may want to bake her some cookies. Set in 1997 - two years before the publication of King's first novel, The Pleasing Hour - Writers & Lovers is narrated by 31-year-old Casey Peabody, who is struggling to finish writing her first novel under the crushing weight of college loan debts and grief for her mother's recent, unexpected death. After Euphoria (2014), a richly researched and imagined tragic love triangle inspired by anthropologist Margaret Mead's life, King returns to her comfort zone: a distressed young woman finding her way in late 20th century New England. Lily King's new novel, her fifth, won't transport you to an exotic locale the way her last one did, but oh my, it's a good read. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title Writers & Lovers Author Lily King

Book lovers book review