The Road to Tender Hearts
Annie Hartnett
An 80-year-old sets off across the country to win back his high school crush, then gets saddled with two orphaned grandkids and a cat who can predict death. Darkly funny and big-hearted at once.
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★ 5Heart the Lover
Lily King
A college love triangle from the '80s reignites decades later when crisis pulls the three back together. Turns out it's Casey from Writers & Lovers all grown up, and King just keeps getting better.
★ 5At Weddings and Wakes
Alice McDermott
An Irish-Catholic family in New York, seen through the kids being shuttled to their grandmother's apartment. McDermott makes the ordinary ache.
★ 5Sandwich
Catherine Newman
Sandwich, by Catherine Newman, describes a family’s week-long vacation in Wellfleet and instantly transported me back. It’s funny, moving, and relatable, much like Newman herself (Aliza and I saw her speak in Boston a few weeks ago.) If you just finished All Fours and aren’t ready to stop thinking/reading about menopause, try Sandwich next.
★ 5Eligible
Curtis Sittenfeld
A modern-day Pride and Prejudice set in Cincinnati, and enormous fun. No one does banter and human foibles better than Sittenfeld.
★ 5The Amateur Marriage
Anne Tyler
A story about a marriage that shouldn’t have happened. A gorgeous recreation of Baltimore from 1940s to present-day. I recommended it to Aliza, and she left me multiple voice notes about how much she loved it.