Title:Woman No. 17
Author:Edan Lepucki
Published:May 2017, Hogarth Press
Format:Hardcover, 320 pages
A sinister, sexy noir
about art, motherhood, and the intensity of female friendships, set in
the posh hills above Los Angeles, from the New York Times bestselling
author of California.High in the Hollywood Hills, writer
Lady Daniels has decided to take a break from her husband. She’s going
to need a hand with her young son if she’s ever going to finish her
memoir. In comes S., a magnetic young artist, who will live in the
secluded guest house out back, care for Lady’s young toddler son, and
keep a watchful eye on her older, teenage, one. S. performs her day job
beautifully, quickly drawing the entire family into her orbit, and
becoming a confidante for Lady. But as the summer wears on, S.’s
connection to Lady’s older son takes a disturbing, and possibly
destructive, turn. Lady and S. will move closer to one another as they
both threaten to harm the things they hold most dear. Darkly comic,
twisty and tense, this mesmerizing new novel defies expectation and
proves Edan Lepucki to be one of the most talented and exciting voices
of her generation.
What Readers Are Saying:
“Edan Lepucki’s Woman No. 17 is part family melodrama, part twisty self-relection… very funny.” — GQ
“Following the success of her debut novel, California, author Edan Lepucki returns with a dark and clever tale about motherhood and the complexity of friendships.” — SFWeekly
“Lepucki’s
brisk style and arresting characterizations make for a compelling
portrait of womanhood in the present moment, right down to its
intriguing integration of social media.” —Publishers Weekly
“An acidly inquisitive domestic drama set in teh Hollywood Hills and
anchored to depthless questions of identity, family, and art…
Lepucki’s arch and provocative tale of elaborate and privileged
dysfunction poses sharp questions about inheritance, self-expression,
and love.” —Booklist
“Always enjoyable…this novel succeeds by staying light on its feet.” —Kirkus Reviews
“In Woman No. 17,
Lepucki has crafted an intricate, gripping story of people behaving
very badly. You will want to race to the end to see what happens, but
don’t cheat yourself. This book deserves to be savored –gorgeously
written, darkly comic, smart and thrilling.” – CYNTHIA D’APRIX SWEENEY, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest
“Woman No. 17
fizzes with references to contemporary culture and sparks with larger,
timeless questions: Where is the line between performance and identity?
What separates life from art? And can we ever escape the gravitational
pull of our parents? Edan Lepucki shows herself to be a sharp-eyed
chronicler of our modern world.” – CELESTE NG, New York Times bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You
“Woman No. 17
is a provocative and timely meditation on art, authenticity and
representation in a digital age. The increasingly gripping plot suggests
the outcomes of a thriller, but at the crucial moment the novel swerves
toward subtly profound truths about our capacity for self-sabotage and
self-reinvention, the power of trauma to shape lives, and the
inexorable gravity of family secrets. Lepucki’s smooth prose and deft
handling of point of view reveal a writer fully in command.” —MATTHEW THOMAS, New York Times bestselling author of We Are Not Ourselves
“Taut as a thriller (with plenty of sex and secrets), Woman No. 17
raises big questions about identity, art, ethics, parenthood, and more.
In Edan Lepucki’s hands, the philosophical is transformed into a page
turner; I don’t know how she does it.” –RUMAAN ALAM, author of Rich & Pretty
“[A] Hollywood noir about the electric bonds between women… this one is a safe bet for beach season.” – The Week
Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki is one of BookSparks “Summer Reads” reading selection picks.
Follow the #SRC2017 hashtag on twitter to read reviews on this book as well
as reviews on the other summer books! Also, be sure to check out the BookSparks Facebook page for the#SRC2017
and other fun links. You can participate in weekly secret missions for
chances to win signed copies of selected books and more! There’s a new
secret mission each week 🙂
