'Warm, wise, witty, and just plain fun' Maggie Shipstead
'What we are doing in each other's lives is a well-tended mystery.'
At a perfectly ordinary cocktail party, Francis is introduced to Billy and - although it slips right by him at the time - he falls in love with her at once. Billy is a serious, often glum person. An economic historian, she is indifferent to a great many things (clothes, food, home décor), frowns easily and is frequently irritated. Francis is older. He likes routine and a well-run household; he likes to pay for dinner, open car doors and call Billy at night to make sure she is safe. Both are happily married - but not to each other. So begins a whirlwind love affair, perfectly captured in this frank, funny irresistible novel, from its fabulous inception to its inevitable end.
A W&N Essential with an introduction by Caroline O'Donoghue
Laurie Colwin is such a wise, witty and simply enchanting novelist -- Nigella Lawson
These should be read one at a time, perhaps just before bed as a respite from an especially trying day ― New York Times
Virtually flawless . . . A tour de force ― Los Angeles Times
Whether or not their love goes on is unimportant. The joy is in the intimacy, the utter weirdness and intensity of their connection ― Lit Hub
An infallible recipe for happiness: read as much Laurie Colwin as you can -- Emma Straub
If anyone wrote eloquently and magnificently about affairs of the heart, it was Laurie Colwin ― San Francisco Chronicle
