Synopses & Reviews
Now a New York Times Bestseller!
How can you prove you're not an alcoholic?
You cant.
It's like trying to prove you're not a witch.
Hildy Good is a townie. A lifelong resident of an historic community on the rocky coast of Bostons North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone. Hildy is a descendant of one of the witches hung in nearby Salem, and is believed, by some, to have inherited psychic gifts. Not true, of course; shes just good at reading people. Hildy is good at lots of things. A successful real-estate broker, mother and grandmother, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, staged an intervention and sent her off to rehab. Now shes in recovery—more or less.
Alone and feeling unjustly persecuted, Hildy needs a friend. She finds one in Rebecca McCallister, a beautiful young mother and one of the towns wealthy newcomers. Rebecca feels out-of-step in her new surroundings and is grateful for the friendship. And Hildy feels like a person of the world again, as she and Rebecca escape their worries with some harmless gossip, and a bottle of wine by the fire—just one of their secrets.
But not everyone takes to Rebecca, who is herself the subject of town gossip. When Frank Getchell, an eccentric local who shares a complicated history with Hildy, tries to warn her away from Rebecca, Hildy attempts to protect her friend from a potential scandal. Soon, however, Hildy is busy trying to cover her own tracks and protect her reputation. When a cluster of secrets become dangerously entwined, the reckless behavior of one threatens to expose the other, and this darkly comic novel takes a chilling turn.
THE GOOD HOUSE, by Ann Leary is funny, poignant, and terrifying. A classic New England tale that lays bare the secrets of one little town, this spirited novel will stay with you long after the story has ended.
Review
"Leary's genius is to give us a true original: Hildy, a not-so-recovering alcoholic/realtor who crashlands among a colorful cast of New England neighbors, but Leary also says a great deal about the houses we choose to live, the people we're compelled to love, and the addictions we don't want to give up. So alive, I swear the pages of this wickedly funny and moving novel are breathing." --Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You
“I opened THE GOOD HOUSE and was instantly sucked in; I read the whole thing in one sitting and was sorry when it ended. The story is atmospheric, funny, poignant, gritty, and romantic, and Hildy Good is refreshingly candid and lovably flawed.” --Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man
Review
“Leary writes with humor and insight, revealing both the pure pleasure of drinking and the lies and justifications of alcoholism, the warmth Hildy feels toward others when she drinks and the desperation that makes her put alcohol before the people she loves. The result is a layered and complex portrait of a woman struggling with addiction, in a town where no secret stays secret for long.” -J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times Book Review
“Superstition, drama, and intrigue unspool at a perfect pace in Ann Learys irresistible new novel, The Good House, a tale steeped in New England character and small-town social tumult.” —Redbook
“One of the best works of Massachusetts fiction in recent memory.” —Boston Magazine
“Fresh, sharp and masterfully told. Hildys tale is as intoxicating as it is sobering.” —People Magazine (People Pick)
"Leary... gleefully peels back the pretensions that so often accompany portraits of ye olde Americana." —USA Today
"A sophisticated turn on guilty-pleasure reading that is so well-written it won't make you feel guilty after all, except maybe about reaching for that third glass of pinot noir." —The Huffington Post
"Ann Leary's The Good House creates a one-of-a-kind character in Hildy Good, and gives us a raw, first-person glimpse into the mind of a middle-aged, outspoken wry New England realtor so real she might be someone you know...yet who also is hiding her alcoholism from her family, her town, and herself. By the end you'll be flipping pages, trying desperately to piece together what happened as much as the narrator is doing herself." —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of House Rules and Sing You Home
"Leary's genius is to give us a true original: Hildy, a not-so-recovering alcoholic/realtor who crashlands among a colorful cast of New England neighbors, but Leary also says a great deal about the houses we choose to live, the people we're compelled to love, and the addictions we don't want to give up. So alive, I swear the pages of this wickedly funny and moving novel are breathing." —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You
"I opened The Good House and was instantly sucked in; I read the whole thing in one sitting and was sorry when it ended. The story is atmospheric, funny, poignant, gritty, and romantic, and Hildy Good is refreshingly candid and lovably flawed." —Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man
"Hildy is an original, irresistibly likable and thoroughly untrustworthy … a genuinely funny novel about alcoholism." —Kirkus, starred review
"Learys powerfully perceptive and smartly nuanced portrait of the perils of alcoholism is enhanced by her spot-on depiction of staid New England village life and the redemption to be found in traditions and community." —Booklist
"In Learys third book ... the perils of addiction come to life. Sure to please fans of womens fiction featuring women of a certain age such as the novels of Jeanne Ray and Elizabeth Berg." —Library Journal
Review
Ann Leary's THE GOOD HOUSE creates a one-of-a-kind character in Hildy Good, and gives us a raw, first-person glimpse into the mind of a middle-aged, outspoken wry New England realtor so real she might be someone you know... yet who also is hiding her alcoholism from her family, her town, and herself. By the end you'll be flipping pages, trying desperately to piece together what happened as much as the narrator is doing herself. -
- Jodi Picoult, NYT bestselling author of HOUSE RULES and SING YOU HOME"Leary's genius is to give us a true original: Hildy, a not-so-recovering alcoholic/realtor who crashlands among a colorful cast of New England neighbors, but Leary also says a great deal about the houses we choose to live, the people we're compelled to love, and the addictions we don't want to give up. So alive, I swear the pages of this wickedly funny and moving novel are breathing." --Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You
“I opened THE GOOD HOUSE and was instantly sucked in; I read the whole thing in one sitting and was sorry when it ended. The story is atmospheric, funny, poignant, gritty, and romantic, and Hildy Good is refreshingly candid and lovably flawed.” --Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man
Review
“Superstition, drama, and intrigue unspool at a perfect pace in Ann Learys irresistible new novel, The Good House, a tale steeped in New England character and small-town social tumult.” -Redbook
“One of the best works of Massachusetts fiction in recent memory.” -Boston Magazine
“Fresh, sharp and masterfully told. Hildys tale is as intoxicating as it is sobering.”
-People
Ann Leary's THE GOOD HOUSE creates a one-of-a-kind character in Hildy Good, and gives us a raw, first-person glimpse into the mind of a middle-aged, outspoken wry New England realtor so real she might be someone you know...yet who also is hiding her alcoholism from her family, her town, and herself. By the end you'll be flipping pages, trying desperately to piece together what happened as much as the narrator is doing herself." - Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of House Rules and Sing You Home
"Leary's genius is to give us a true original: Hildy, a not-so-recovering alcoholic/realtor who crashlands among a colorful cast of New England neighbors, but Leary also says a great deal about the houses we choose to live, the people we're compelled to love, and the addictions we don't want to give up. So alive, I swear the pages of this wickedly funny and moving novel are breathing."—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You
“I opened THE GOOD HOUSE and was instantly sucked in; I read the whole thing in one sitting and was sorry when it ended. The story is atmospheric, funny, poignant, gritty, and romantic, and Hildy Good is refreshingly candid and lovably flawed.”—Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man
“Hildy is an original, irresistibly likable and thoroughly untrustworthy … a genuinely funny novel about alcoholism.”—Kirkus, starred review
“Learys powerfully perceptive and smartly nuanced portrait of the perils of alcoholism is enhanced by her spot-on depiction of staid New England village life and the redemption to be found in traditions and community.”—Booklist
"In Learys third book ... the perils of addiction come to life. Sure to please fans of womens fiction featuring women of a certain age such as the novels of Jeanne Ray and Elizabeth Berg." --Library Journal
Review
“Superstition, drama, and intrigue unspool at a perfect pace in Ann Learys irresistible new novel, The Good House, a tale steeped in New England character and small-town social tumult.” —Redbook
“One of the best works of Massachusetts fiction in recent memory.” —Boston Magazine
“Fresh, sharp and masterfully told. Hildys tale is as intoxicating as it is sobering.” —People Magazine (People Pick)
"Leary... gleefully peels back the pretensions that so often accompany portraits of ye olde Americana." —USA Today
"A sophisticated turn on guilty-pleasure reading that is so well-written it won't make you feel guilty after all, except maybe about reaching for that third glass of pinot noir." —The Huffington Post
Ann Leary's The Good House creates a one-of-a-kind character in Hildy Good, and gives us a raw, first-person glimpse into the mind of a middle-aged, outspoken wry New England realtor so real she might be someone you know...yet who also is hiding her alcoholism from her family, her town, and herself. By the end you'll be flipping pages, trying desperately to piece together what happened as much as the narrator is doing herself." —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of House Rules and Sing You Home
"Leary's genius is to give us a true original: Hildy, a not-so-recovering alcoholic/realtor who crashlands among a colorful cast of New England neighbors, but Leary also says a great deal about the houses we choose to live, the people we're compelled to love, and the addictions we don't want to give up. So alive, I swear the pages of this wickedly funny and moving novel are breathing." —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You
"I opened The Good House and was instantly sucked in; I read the whole thing in one sitting and was sorry when it ended. The story is atmospheric, funny, poignant, gritty, and romantic, and Hildy Good is refreshingly candid and lovably flawed." —Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man
"Hildy is an original, irresistibly likable and thoroughly untrustworthy … a genuinely funny novel about alcoholism." —Kirkus, starred review
"Learys powerfully perceptive and smartly nuanced portrait of the perils of alcoholism is enhanced by her spot-on depiction of staid New England village life and the redemption to be found in traditions and community." —Booklist
"In Learys third book ... the perils of addiction come to life. Sure to please fans of womens fiction featuring women of a certain age such as the novels of Jeanne Ray and Elizabeth Berg." —Library Journal
Review
“Leary writes with humor and insight, revealing both the pure pleasure of drinking and the lies and justifications of alcoholism, the warmth Hildy feels toward others when she drinks and the desperation that makes her put alcohol before the people she loves. The result is a layered and complex portrait of a woman struggling with addiction, in a town where no secret stays secret for long.” -J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times Book Review
“Superstition, drama, and intrigue unspool at a perfect pace in Ann Learys irresistible new novel, The Good House, a tale steeped in New England character and small-town social tumult.” —Redbook
“One of the best works of Massachusetts fiction in recent memory.” —Boston Magazine
“Fresh, sharp and masterfully told. Hildys tale is as intoxicating as it is sobering.” —People Magazine (People Pick)
"Leary... gleefully peels back the pretensions that so often accompany portraits of ye olde Americana." —USA Today
"A sophisticated turn on guilty-pleasure reading that is so well-written it won't make you feel guilty after all, except maybe about reaching for that third glass of pinot noir." —The Huffington Post
"Ann Leary's The Good House creates a one-of-a-kind character in Hildy Good, and gives us a raw, first-person glimpse into the mind of a middle-aged, outspoken wry New England realtor so real she might be someone you know...yet who also is hiding her alcoholism from her family, her town, and herself. By the end you'll be flipping pages, trying desperately to piece together what happened as much as the narrator is doing herself." —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of House Rules and Sing You Home
"Leary's genius is to give us a true original: Hildy, a not-so-recovering alcoholic/realtor who crashlands among a colorful cast of New England neighbors, but Leary also says a great deal about the houses we choose to live, the people we're compelled to love, and the addictions we don't want to give up. So alive, I swear the pages of this wickedly funny and moving novel are breathing." —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You
"I opened The Good House and was instantly sucked in; I read the whole thing in one sitting and was sorry when it ended. The story is atmospheric, funny, poignant, gritty, and romantic, and Hildy Good is refreshingly candid and lovably flawed." —Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man
"Hildy is an original, irresistibly likable and thoroughly untrustworthy … a genuinely funny novel about alcoholism." —Kirkus, starred review
"Learys powerfully perceptive and smartly nuanced portrait of the perils of alcoholism is enhanced by her spot-on depiction of staid New England village life and the redemption to be found in traditions and community." —Booklist
"In Learys third book ... the perils of addiction come to life. Sure to please fans of womens fiction featuring women of a certain age such as the novels of Jeanne Ray and Elizabeth Berg." —Library Journal
Review
“Both Hildys denial and her vulnerability are dramatized extremely well by narrator Mary Beth Hurt. Hurt deftly portrays Hildys tendency to hide her alcoholism under a veneer of polished perfection; shes a woman who can deal with anyones problems but her own. As the novel continues, the listener feels the pain of Hildys breakdown and relapse in Hurts Delivery, so well does she depict Learys beautifully plotted story.” - AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner
“Mary Beth Hurts reading brought out the humor in Learys prose…Hurts reading was a very engaging way to absorb this novel.” - National Association of Realtors
“The Good House is told in first person, which makes it an ideal audiobook - especially in the hands of reader Mary Beth Hurt, who simultaneously portrays Hildy as smart, funny, prickly, sympathetic and - well, pathetic.” - The Star-Ledger
“Hildy is brought to life - on and off the wagon - by Mary Beth Hurts fabulous performance.” - Bookpage
“I was constantly entertained by the story and Hurts total inhabitation of Hildy, who is both star and narrator of her own tale” - Winston-Salem Journal
“Mary Beth Hurt does a fantastic job bringing Hildy to life vocally in all her facets…The author is talented and the reader adept; they have created a comprehensively compelling audio experience.” - New World Review
Review
"In lesser hands, Ari might be unlikable, but Albert imbues her with searing honesty and dark humor, and the result is a fascinating protagonist for this rich novel."
—Publishers Weekly
"After Birth is a voluptuous, hilarious, scaldingly and exhilaratingly honest account of new motherhood, emotional exile, and the complex romance of female friendship. I'm a huge Elisa Albert fan, and in her latest she has perfected a tonal pivot that whips the reader from laughter to revelation in a sentence."
—Karen Russell, author of Sleep Donation and Swamplandia!
"A deep, funny novel about the terrors and exhilarations of love in all its forms. Elisa Albert writes with startling clarity and furious wit about marriage, motherhood and friendship, illuminating these familiar landscapes with lightning flashes of revelation."
—Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation
"After Birth is a fast-talking, opinionated, moody, funny, and slightly desperate account of the attempt to recover from having a baby. It is a romp through dangerous waters, in which passages of hilarity are shadowed by the dark nights of earliest motherhood, those months so tremulous with both new love and the despairing loss of one's identity—to read it is an absorbing, entertaining, and thought-provoking experience."
—Lydia Davis, author of Can't and Won't
"Bukowski wrote that he preferred people who scream when they burn, and nobody burns, or screams, like Elisa Albert—a fiercely intelligent, dark and funny woman unafraid of her own anger."
—Shalom Auslander, author of Hope: A Tragedy
"Elisa Albert in a nutshell: funny, self-aware, and genuinely fearless that she might be a lunatic, or a genius, or both."
—Emily Gould, The Awl
Synopsis
Now a New York Times Bestseller
How can you prove you're not an alcoholic?
You can't.
It's like trying to prove you're not a witch.
Hildy Good is a townie. A lifelong resident of an historic community on the rocky coast of Boston's North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone. Hildy is a descendant of one of the witches hung in nearby Salem, and is believed, by some, to have inherited psychic gifts. Not true, of course; she's just good at reading people. Hildy is good at lots of things. A successful real-estate broker, mother and grandmother, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, staged an intervention and sent her off to rehab. Now she's in recovery--more or less.
Alone and feeling unjustly persecuted, Hildy needs a friend. She finds one in Rebecca McCallister, a beautiful young mother and one of the town's wealthy newcomers. Rebecca feels out-of-step in her new surroundings and is grateful for the friendship. And Hildy feels like a person of the world again, as she and Rebecca escape their worries with some harmless gossip, and a bottle of wine by the fire--just one of their secrets.
But not everyone takes to Rebecca, who is herself the subject of town gossip. When Frank Getchell, an eccentric local who shares a complicated history with Hildy, tries to warn her away from Rebecca, Hildy attempts to protect her friend from a potential scandal. Soon, however, Hildy is busy trying to cover her own tracks and protect her reputation. When a cluster of secrets become dangerously entwined, the reckless behavior of one threatens to expose the other, and this darkly comic novel takes a chilling turn.
THE GOOD HOUSE, by Ann Leary is funny, poignant, and terrifying. A classic New England tale that lays bare the secrets of one little town, this spirited novel will stay with you long after the story has ended.
Synopsis
"Fresh, sharp and masterfully told, Hildys tale is as intoxicating as it is sobering."—
People magazine
A riveting novel in which an engaging and wildly irreverent woman is in complete denial—about herself, her drinking, and her love for a man shes known all her life
Ann Leary's The Good House tells the story of Hildy Good, who lives in a small town on Bostons North Shore. Hildy is a successful real-estate broker, good neighbor, mother, and grandmother. Shes also a raging alcoholic. Hildys family held an intervention for her about a year before this story takes place—“if they invite you over for dinner, and its not a major holiday,” she advises “run for your life”—and now she feels lonely and unjustly persecuted. She has also fooled herself into thinking that moderation is the key to her drinking problem.
As if battling her demons wasnt enough to keep her busy, Hildy soon finds herself embroiled in the underbelly of her New England town, a craggy little place that harbors secrets. Theres a scandal, some mysticism, babies, old houses, drinking, and desire—and a love story between two craggy sixty-somethings that's as real and sexy as you get. An exceptional novel that is at turns hilarious and sobering, The Good House asks the question: What will it take to keep Hildy Good from drinking? For good.
Synopsis
A riveting novel in which an engaging and wildly irreverent woman is in complete denial—about herself, her drinking, and her love for a man shes known all her life
The Good House tells the story of Hildy Good, who lives in a small town on Bostons North Shore. Hildy is a successful real-estate broker, good neighbor, mother, and grandmother. Shes also a raging alcoholic. Hildys family held an intervention for her about a year before this story takes place—“if they invite you over for dinner, and its not a major holiday,” she advises “run for your life”—and now she feels lonely and unjustly persecuted. She has also fooled herself into thinking that moderation is the key to her drinking problem.
As if battling her demons wasnt enough to keep her busy, Hildy soon finds herself embroiled in the underbelly of her New England town, a craggy little place that harbors secrets. Theres a scandal, some mysticism, babies, old houses, drinking, and desire—and a love story between two craggy sixty-somethings that's as real and sexy as you get. An exceptional novel that is at turns hilarious and sobering, The Good House asks the question: What will it take to keep Hildy Good from drinking? For good.
Synopsis
"Fresh, sharp and masterfully told, Hildys tale is as intoxicating as it is sobering."—
People magazine
A riveting novel in which an engaging and wildly irreverent woman is in complete denial—about herself, her drinking, and her love for a man shes known all her life
Ann Leary's The Good House tells the story of Hildy Good, who lives in a small town on Bostons North Shore. Hildy is a successful real-estate broker, good neighbor, mother, and grandmother. Shes also a raging alcoholic. Hildys family held an intervention for her about a year before this story takes place—“if they invite you over for dinner, and its not a major holiday,” she advises “run for your life”—and now she feels lonely and unjustly persecuted. She has also fooled herself into thinking that moderation is the key to her drinking problem.
As if battling her demons wasnt enough to keep her busy, Hildy soon finds herself embroiled in the underbelly of her New England town, a craggy little place that harbors secrets. Theres a scandal, some mysticism, babies, old houses, drinking, and desire—and a love story between two craggy sixty-somethings that's as real and sexy as you get. An exceptional novel that is at turns hilarious and sobering, The Good House asks the question: What will it take to keep Hildy Good from drinking? For good.
Synopsis
Now a New York Times Bestseller!
How can you prove you're not an alcoholic?
You cant.
It's like trying to prove you're not a witch.
Hildy Good is a townie. A lifelong resident of an historic community on the rocky coast of Bostons North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone. Hildy is a descendant of one of the witches hung in nearby Salem, and is believed, by some, to have inherited psychic gifts. Not true, of course; shes just good at reading people. Hildy is good at lots of things. A successful real-estate broker, mother and grandmother, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, staged an intervention and sent her off to rehab. Now shes in recovery—more or less.
Alone and feeling unjustly persecuted, Hildy needs a friend. She finds one in Rebecca McCallister, a beautiful young mother and one of the towns wealthy newcomers. Rebecca feels out-of-step in her new surroundings and is grateful for the friendship. And Hildy feels like a person of the world again, as she and Rebecca escape their worries with some harmless gossip, and a bottle of wine by the fire—just one of their secrets.
But not everyone takes to Rebecca, who is herself the subject of town gossip. When Frank Getchell, an eccentric local who shares a complicated history with Hildy, tries to warn her away from Rebecca, Hildy attempts to protect her friend from a potential scandal. Soon, however, Hildy is busy trying to cover her own tracks and protect her reputation. When a cluster of secrets become dangerously entwined, the reckless behavior of one threatens to expose the other, and this darkly comic novel takes a chilling turn.
THE GOOD HOUSE, by Ann Leary is funny, poignant, and terrifying. A classic New England tale that lays bare the secrets of one little town, this spirited novel will stay with you long after the story has ended.
Synopsis
A widely acclaimed young writer's fierce new novel, in which childbirth and new motherhood are as high-stakes a crucible as any combat zone.
Synopsis
A widely acclaimed young writer’s fierce new novel, in which childbirth and new motherhood are as high stakes a proving ground as any combat zone
A year has passed since Ari gave birth to Walker, though it went so badly awry she has trouble calling it “birth” and still she can't locate herself in her altered universe. Amid the strange, disjointed rhythms of her days and nights and another impending winter in upstate New York, Ari is a tree without roots, struggling to keep her branches aloft.
When Mina, a one-time cult musician — older, self-contained, alone, and nine-months pregnant —moves to town, Ari sees the possibility of a new friend, despite her unfortunate habit of generally mistrusting women. Soon they become comrades-in-arms, and the previously hostile terrain seems almost navigable.
With piercing insight, purifying anger, and outrageous humor, Elisa Albert issues a wake-up call to a culture that turns its new mothers into exiles, and expects them to act like natives. Like Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk About Kevin and Anne Enright’s The Gathering, this is a daring and resonant novel from one of our most visceral writers.
About the Author
Ann Leary is the author of the memoir An Innocent, A Broad and the novel Outtakes From a Marriage. She has written fiction and nonfiction for various magazines and literary publications and is a co-host of the NPR weekly radio show Hash Hags. Ann competes in equestrian sports and is a volunteer EMT. She and her family share their small farm in Connecticut with four dogs, three horses and an angry cat named Sneakers.