I was looking for something to read at the bookstore McNally Jackson the other week when I saw Willful Disregard on display. The staff described it as “a novel about love and texting,” two things I enjoy.
I read the book in 24 hours, taking photos of passages that made me laugh or wince. Here, for example, is the protagonist, Ester, when her crush won’t respond to her email:
Oh Ester, I kept thinking while I read, feeling secondhand embarrassment. I also loved the framing of female friends as “the girlfriend chorus.” It reminded me of something my friend Kate once texted me when I was in the midst of a crush-related crisis:
When I texted Kate to recommend Willful Disregard, she brought up another book: Acts of Desperation, which renders a short, obsessive relationship and brutal breakup in minute detail. Chloé Caldwell’s sexy novella, Women, might also belong with these two. Just re-released, the story traces a woman’s tumultuous first queer relationship.
Now and again I’ll find myself in the mood for a love story that doesn’t end in disaster, but I usually feel like Ayo Edebiri when she was sent a copy of Sally Rooney’s new novel: “idk how but she knew i needed my triennial fix of emotionally stunted Irish ppl going thru it…” It’s fun to watch a character send a text they really, really shouldn’t and feels cathartic to watch someone slowly pick themselves back up after a bad breakup.
What are you reading right now? Have you read any good books about relationships or breakups lately? Joanna tore through The Husbands, which she said felt like watching a funny, smart TV show.
P.S. Joanna’s three favorite books, a short story that made us gasp, the funniest memoir about marriage, and Ashley Ford’s ode to romance novels.
(Top image from the hilarious Women Having a Terrible Time at Parties in Western Art History.)
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