Review of Lily King’s Writers & Lovers: A Page-Turner

I just finished reading Writers & Lovers by Lily King. I don’t read a lot of literary fiction. I find that many writers of the genre favor character so much that little actually happens plotwise. Things do happen in this novel. The details are so well-observed and resonant that it’s a pleasure to read. I burned through the story quickly and didn’t want to put it down.

The best description of Writers and Lovers is Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman. King accomplishes what I love about writing. Though much of the book’s exposition is interior, the author puts a movie in your head. There’s much to admire in her writing style and eye for detail.

Writers of a certain literary bent drop ambiguous endings on their victims/readers. King doesn’t do that. This novel has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Best of all, King gives us a self-sabotaging protagonist we can root for. We want her to win, so we follow her journey, hoping things will work out okay. It works because we’re all hoping things will work out okay.

Find Lily King’s author page on Amazon here.

Lily King’s website is here.