From Publishers Weekly
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Back in the 1980s at Oberlin College, in Ohio,
Elizabeth, Andrew, Zoe, and Lydia had a band called Kitty’s
Mustache. Elizabeth wrote a song called “Mistress of Myself”;
Lydia sang it and made it famous, but she died of a heroin
overdose at age 27. Two decades later, Elizabeth and Andrew are
married and have a son, Harry. Living nearby in Brooklyn’s Ditmas
Park neighborhood are Zoe and her wife, Jane, with their
daughter, Ruby. They own a neighborhood restaurant called
Hyacinth. Midlife crises are roiling both marriages: Zoe and Jane
are considering divorce; Andrew, the scion of wealthy parents,
has never held a meaningful job and is now bemoaning his failure
to find fulfillment, and Elizabeth sells real estate in Ditmas
and feels responsible for everyone. To further complicate
matters, teenagers Harry and Ruby suddenly discover sex. Into
this volatile mix comes a Hollywood producer who’s making a movie
about Lydia and urgently needs the former band members to sign
over their rights to the iconic song. Straub (The Vacationers)
spins her lighthearted but psychologically perceptive narrative
with a sure touch as she captures the vibes of midlife,
middle-class angst and the raging hormones of youth. Straub
excels in establishing a sense of place: the narrative could
serve as a to gentrified Brooklyn; it’s that detailed and
visually clear. Events move at a brisk pace, and surprises
involving resurgent passion enliven the denouement. Readers will
devour this witty and warmly satisfying novel. Agent: Claudia
Ballard, WME Entertainment. (May)
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Review
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"Reading this novel has all the pleasures of reading one of Anne
Tyler’s compelling family portraits — but transported from
Baltimore to Brooklyn, peopled with aging hipsters (instead of
perennially middle-aged folks) and doused with a Lorrie
Moore-like sense of the absurdities of contemporary life."
—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
“The humorous in Straub brings to the page about how
everyday lives are lived will make for immersive reading and rich
conversation. . . Straub recounts her characters' yearnings with
love and empathy, which makes the book's wit — and Modern Lovers
is screamingly funny —glow with warmth." —USA Today
"Straub serves up a perfect slice of the zeitgeist with this
entertaining novel about former college bandmates raising their
precocious children while grappling with marital tensions and
midlife crises." —People
“[Modern Lovers] has the smart, cool sensibility of Straub's
other novels, and you're sure to love this one just as
much.” —Elle
“Straub lets her characters fall apart and come together in their
own messy, refreshingly human ways— always older, sometimes
wiser, but never quite done coming of age.” –Entertainment Weekly
“Summer in the city has never felt so good. . . Modern Lovers
celebrates the updated look and feel of familial love and all of
its complexities. Straub’s clever and perceptive observations on
growing up are gentle reminders that coming of age isn’t just for
kids.” —The Washington Post
“With a real-estate agent, a chef, a yogi 'guru,' and teens
sneaking off to do what teens do when teens sneak off— Straub’s
latest has something for everyone.” —Marie Claire
“A lovely, satisfying early-summer read.” –EW.com
“Thoughtful and hilarious, Modern Lovers proves growing up
doesn’t stop in adulthood.” —Real Simple
“[Emma Straub] delights in this multi-generational tale.” —Good
Housekeeping
“Bestseller Emma Straub gives us an inful look into middle
age, parenthood, and the funny way that passions never fade, no
matter how much time passes by.” –Harper’s Bazaar
“Straub has a gift for exposing larger truths through small,
telling details. Her warmth and sense of humor electrify every
page.” –New York Magazine, Vulture
“Really entertaining. The characters are complex and likeable…
one of those stories that makes you realise that life really does
run away from you.” –The Guardian (UK)
“Straub has a knack for keeping relationship drama amusing.” –The
Boston Globe
“[Straub has a] gentle way of producing meaning, allowing
characters’ trains of thought to run freely until they end up
exposing a truth at once personally significant and broadly
aphoristic. The deepening feels so natural you hardly notice it
happening, and then you wonder how you arrived at such an
inward-facing, luminous place.” –Slate
“Modern Lovers examines love as both a fictionalized form of
entertainment and very real component of the human condition. It
pains us, excites us, frustrates and compels us to do stupid and
extraordinary things — and yet we seem ever-willing to come back
for more.” –Salon
“A hilarious and heartfelt look at love and friendship, Modern
Lovers is this summer's page-turning must-read.” –Mashable
“Beach-ready.” —Flavorwire
“[Modern Lovers] is a treat. . . a fabulous coming-of-age novel
about women entering into a new era of their lives.” —Refinery29
“In Modern Lovers, Straub’s new intertwined families are stuck in
Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, for the summer, but there are plenty of
fireworks — including a teen romance and a potential movie about
the friends’ punk-rock past.” –Newsday
“A life-long friend group much like the Friends gang are now in
their fifties, and their kids are becoming adults. Much like
Monica, Rachel, Joey, Chandler, Ross, and Phoebe, the characters
are all neighbors with each other, this time in Brooklyn. As they
grapple with their new place in life, you'll be drawn completely
in by their stories and struggles.” —Bustle
“[Booksellers] are high on this Big Chill-for-Gen X story from
the author of The Vacationers.” –Hollywood Reporter
“A smart, thoughtful novel about growing up and getting
older.” —PopSugar
“A gentle and quirky story about growing up and letting
go, Modern Lovers is the perfect summer read: It’s breezy yet
relatable and wildly entertaining.” –PureWow
“Modern Lovers takes place in a Brooklyn so brilliantly true to
real life, it’s hard to ignore. A summer read of the highest
order.” —HelloGiggles
“Sweet, charming, funny and gut-wrenching.” —The Fort Worth
Star-Telegram
“[Straub] sets her observational wit on three middle-aged
friends (former college bandmates) who find themselves in a
crisis of identity as their now-grown children head off to
college themselves.” —Huffington Post
“What happens when you age out of your cool? It’s a topic that
filmmaker Noah Baumbach has explored, and Straub is his literary
counterpart. . . With the multigenerational structure, it would
be easy to compare Straub to other masters of the genre like Meg
Wolitzer or Jennifer Egan, but she’s already a master in her own
right after The Vacationers, so Modern Lovers should prove to be
a witty romp.” —The Millions
“An enthralling page-turner with conflicts and mysteries that
will keep readers riveted.” —Bust
“This is a coming of age story for the parents and children
alike, each of who grows up during the course of the novel. .
. Straub treats her characters with a rare good humor and
affection, which is what makes Modern Lovers such an
entertaining, yet affecting, story.” —The Examiner
“Straub has such a funny, perceptive writing style, you feel like
you’re close friends with them all.” —Cup of Jo
“Wise and often hilarious, Modern Lovers is a testament to how
the passions and secrets of our youth can last well into
adulthood.” —Buzzfeed
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