CBS New York Book Club with Mary Calvi and Belletrist Book Club Pick
“Raw, complex, and utterly unforgettable.” —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author
The only child of a famous American novelist discovers a shocking family secret that upends everything she thought she knew about her parents, her gilded childhood, and her own stalled writing career in this standout debut, perfect for fans of Pineapple Street and The Plot.
Growing up in the nineties in New York City as the only child of famous parents was both a blessing and a curse for Isabelle Manning. Her beautiful society hostess mother, Claire, and New York Times bestselling author father, Ward, were the city’s intellectual It couple. Ward’s glamorous obligations often took him away from Isabelle, but Claire made sure her childhood was always filled with love.
Now an adult, all Isabelle wants is to be a successful writer like her father but after many false starts and the unexpected death of her mother, she faces her upcoming thirty-fifth birthday alone and on the verge of a breakdown. Her anxiety only skyrockets when she uncovers some shocking truths about her parents and begins wondering if everything she knew about her family was all based on an elaborate lie.
This “literary page-turner” (KJ Dell’Antonia, New York Times bestselling author) is punctuated with fragments of a compulsively readable book-within-a-book about a woman determined to steal back the spotlight from a man who has cheated his way to the top. The characters seem eerily familiar but is the plot based on fact? And more importantly, who is the author?
Genre: Literary Fiction
“Raw, complex, and utterly unforgettable.” —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author
The only child of a famous American novelist discovers a shocking family secret that upends everything she thought she knew about her parents, her gilded childhood, and her own stalled writing career in this standout debut, perfect for fans of Pineapple Street and The Plot.
Growing up in the nineties in New York City as the only child of famous parents was both a blessing and a curse for Isabelle Manning. Her beautiful society hostess mother, Claire, and New York Times bestselling author father, Ward, were the city’s intellectual It couple. Ward’s glamorous obligations often took him away from Isabelle, but Claire made sure her childhood was always filled with love.
Now an adult, all Isabelle wants is to be a successful writer like her father but after many false starts and the unexpected death of her mother, she faces her upcoming thirty-fifth birthday alone and on the verge of a breakdown. Her anxiety only skyrockets when she uncovers some shocking truths about her parents and begins wondering if everything she knew about her family was all based on an elaborate lie.
This “literary page-turner” (KJ Dell’Antonia, New York Times bestselling author) is punctuated with fragments of a compulsively readable book-within-a-book about a woman determined to steal back the spotlight from a man who has cheated his way to the top. The characters seem eerily familiar but is the plot based on fact? And more importantly, who is the author?
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"I loved this sharp, multi-layered tale about the highly combustible relationship between love and ambition. Filled with family secrets, pitch-perfect details, and engagingly complex characters, it kept me hooked from page one." - Alexandra Andrews
"A standout debut about family, secrets, and the costs of protecting a precious legacy. Abramson skillfully captures the idiosyncrasies of the New York artistic elite and then rips the veil away, revealing characters who are raw, complex, and utterly unforgettable." - Fiona Davis
"A Likely Story is a literary page-turner and a thoroughly modern story of family mistakes and redemption that I couldn't put down." - KJ Dell'Antonia
"Such a rich, clever story about the pitfalls of loving a celebrity." - Tracey Lange
"A dishy, sophisticated story about an aspiring novelist whose greatest influence (and hindrance) is her own famous father. Moving, enraging, and utterly romantic, A Likely Story is literary gold." - Courtney Maum
"In Abramson's psychologically rich and engrossing debut, the lives of New York literati are rendered in pitch-perfect, delicious detail, as a hidden manuscript exposes a web of family secrets--and inspires an audacious deception. A Likely Story is a testament to the power of fiction not just to imitate life, but to control it. I couldn't stop reading." - Jonathan Vatner
"A standout debut about family, secrets, and the costs of protecting a precious legacy. Abramson skillfully captures the idiosyncrasies of the New York artistic elite and then rips the veil away, revealing characters who are raw, complex, and utterly unforgettable." - Fiona Davis
"A Likely Story is a literary page-turner and a thoroughly modern story of family mistakes and redemption that I couldn't put down." - KJ Dell'Antonia
"Such a rich, clever story about the pitfalls of loving a celebrity." - Tracey Lange
"A dishy, sophisticated story about an aspiring novelist whose greatest influence (and hindrance) is her own famous father. Moving, enraging, and utterly romantic, A Likely Story is literary gold." - Courtney Maum
"In Abramson's psychologically rich and engrossing debut, the lives of New York literati are rendered in pitch-perfect, delicious detail, as a hidden manuscript exposes a web of family secrets--and inspires an audacious deception. A Likely Story is a testament to the power of fiction not just to imitate life, but to control it. I couldn't stop reading." - Jonathan Vatner
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Used availability for Leigh McMullan Abramson's A Likely Story