A Novel Obsession
Books | Fiction / Literary
3.5
Caitlin Barasch
A Good Morning America Buzz Pick, and a BuzzFeed and New York Post "Best Book of 2022" "If you’ve ever felt tempted to ‘keep tabs on’ a partner’s ex on Instagram and then found yourself down a rabbit hole of their vacation posts from three years ago, this debut novel—which follows a 24-year-old New Yorker named Naomi who becomes obsessed with her boyfriend’s former girlfriend—is for you."—Vogue, “Best New Beach Reads”Twenty-four-year-old New York bookseller Naomi Ackerman is desperate to write a novel, but struggles to find a story to tell. When, after countless disastrous dates, she meets Caleb—a perfectly nice guy with a Welsh accent and a unique patience for all her quirks—she thinks she's finally stumbled onto a time-honored subject: love. Then Caleb's ex-girlfriend, Rosemary, enters the scene. Upon learning that Rosemary is not safely tucked away in Caleb’s homeland overseas, but in fact lives in New York and also works in the literary world, Naomi is threatened and intrigued in equal measure. If they both fell for the same man, what else might they have in common? The more Naomi learns about Rosemary, the more her curiosity consumes her. Before she knows it, her casual Instagram stalking morphs into a friendship under false pretenses—and becomes the subject of her nascent novel. As her lies and half-truths spiral out of control, and fact and fiction become increasingly difficult to untangle, Naomi must decide what—and who—she’s willing to sacrifice to write the perfect ending.
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More Details:
Author
Caitlin Barasch
Pages
336
Publisher
Penguin
Published Date
2022-03-15
ISBN
0593185587 9780593185582
Community ReviewsSee all
"Wow! Read through this in just over a day. A writer becomes obsessed with her new boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend and begins stalking her in efforts to jumpstart her writing. Her life gets very tangled up in the obsession as she finds out more about the ex girlfriend as well as herself. Excellent read!"
"As an avid book obsessed reader, I love books about books. I was excited to receive this copy from Dutton books from a debut author. Thank you!<br/><br/>This book gave me fatal attraction vibes with a bookworm twist. <br/><br/>The protagonist Naomi, is an aspiring writer and hasn’t had positive relationships with men prior to meeting Caleb on Tinder. He took a shine to her and he bacame her boyfriend. Her overly anxious mind couldn’t relate to what he seen in her and she decided to write a novel about this to see if she could find the answers to love. <br/><br/>Befriended his ex girlfriend she thought would make an excellent plot to her novel and it’s often easier to write about situations drawn from experience. <br/><br/>This was a very interesting take on how a writers real life and the fictional character in her book becomes a frightening psychosis. <br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>"
"This story had all the characters I loved — a yearning psycho, a Nice Guy Who's A Little Off, a girl who's just smart but that makes her seem interesting, a writing critic grandma, an inexplicably loved son....<br/><br/>I really enjoyed hating the character of Naomi and rooting for her anyway. I loved the buildup and constant anxiety of this novel. I love it when books make me feel things like this one did — ickiness and all.<br/><br/>I did expect more from the end!!!!! That's all I'll say on that, but that's why it's not a full five-star from me. But I really liked it. One the best starts to a book I've read this year. <br/><br/>Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!"