Preview
  • Writers & Lovers

  • A Novel
  • By: Lily King
  • Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
  • Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (1,988 ratings)

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Writers & Lovers

By: Lily King
Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
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Publisher's summary

#ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick as Featured on Today
Emma Roberts Belletrist Book Club Pick
A New York Times Book Review’s Group Text Selection

“I loved this book not just from the first chapter or the first page but from the first paragraph… The voice is just so honest and riveting and insightful about creativity and life.” —Curtis Sittenfeld

Following the breakout success of her critically acclaimed and award-winning novel Euphoria, Lily King returns with an unforgettable portrait of an artist as a young woman.

Blindsided by her mother’s sudden death and wrecked by a recent love affair, Casey Peabody has arrived in Massachusetts in the summer of 1997 without a plan. Her mail consists of wedding invitations and final notices from debt collectors. A former child golf prodigy, she now waits tables in Harvard Square and rents a tiny, moldy room at the side of a garage where she works on the novel she has been writing for six years. At thirty-one, Casey is still clutching onto something nearly all her old friends have let go of: the determination to live a creative life. When she falls for two very different men at the same time, her world fractures even more. Casey’s fight to fulfill her creative ambitions and balance the conflicting demands of art and life is challenged in ways that push her to the brink.

Writers & Lovers follows Casey―a smart and achingly vulnerable protagonist―in the last days of a long youth, a time when every element of her life comes to a crisis. Written with King’s trademark humor, heart, and intelligence, Writers & Lovers is a transfixing novel that explores the terrifying and exhilarating leap between the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another.

©2020 Lily King (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing
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Editor's Pick

Portrait of an artist as a young woman
"Casey Peabody is the central character of this new novel by Lily King. She’s in her early 30s and living the kind of life some would argue should have ended in her 20s—most of her friends have moved on from the "artist’s" life and gotten "real" jobs, while Casey still waitresses, lives alone in what’s basically a potting shed, and has been working on her novel for the past six years. And while Casey is far from happy—she is reeling from her mother’s death and suffers debilitating anxiety—her life is in no way a cautionary tale, or a cliché. Casey is not perfect, or even 100% likable, but I felt intense empathy for her, and there were plenty of times when her musings made me laugh or even cringe a little bit with self recognition. Most strikingly, throughout the whole story she felt real—the result of a well-drawn character and stellar narration. For a story that’s so much about the internal voice of one woman, having the right person narrate is crucial, and Stacey Glemboski’s performance is an example of perfection in casting. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see the world through Casey’s eyes for a time—King has masterfully captured the essence of one young(ish) woman making her way in the real world. —Tricia F., Audible Editor

More to explore: In Conversation, An Interview with Lily King

What listeners say about Writers & Lovers

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Authentic characters

I felt like I could relate to Casey as if she were someone I once knew. The narrator captures her spirit beautifully.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

First book in years! Book Club Belair.

Really liked the reader, Glemboski. Alot of the story she was depressed but true to life for a writer. I love the happy endings as we all know life evolves!

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Let’s just say it’s not what I expected

Sometimes it’s good when the story surprises you ! But this surprise was .....”that’s it, that’s the end, they just said the end and the credits are rolling, ok this is weird.” If you enjoy being let down and maybe dumbfounded, you should read this book. Good airport read maybe?

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Writer's and Lovers

Loved it! I could relate! Characters very realistic. I was sorry when the book ended!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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fabulous detail, credible surprises!

I thoroughly enjoyed the expressive detail in King's writing, and the turns in the story that were often less than obvious, but never disappointing - believable and well developed. The author effectively helps us step back and understand the arc of the story.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful

A beautiful portrayal of womanhood, grief, youth, and genuine characters who make mistakes. I won’t forget this book anytime soon

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A refreshing heartfelt story

This book was a refreshing change. Author made me feel like we all have our own unique problems.The problems we have may not always work out the way we think but in some way they just may work out better than we thought they would. we all are aa little crazy

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4 people found this helpful

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Unexpectedly AMAZING

At first when I started reading this book, I was confused and sad because my mom died unexpectedly too. I didn’t think I had the courage to read or listen to this book. But it turns out this was exactly the unexpected thing that I needed. The storytelling was beautiful, thoughtful, deliberate and real. I don’t want to give the ending away. But I too today; am an a fearless blue giraffe for the first time in a long time. Lily, thank you for your beautiful, honest, raw look at life and how one event can change the direction of your life from unimaginably painful into unimaginably beautiful and hopeful.

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Loved it!

Such beautiful writing! I really enjoyed this one and was sad when it was over.

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Lackluster story

This was a struggle to finish. I didn't really care about the story until the last hour & a half. If it weren't for this being the book picked by my book club, I probably wouldn't have finished it. We all agreed, the last 45 minutes of story were the best.

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