Synopses & Reviews
An inventive, mordantly funny novel about love, marriage, stalkers, and the indignities of parenthood
In quaint Haddonfield, New Jersey, Tess is about to marry Gabe in her childhood home. Her mother, Helen, is in a panic about the guests, who include warring exes, crying babies, jealous girlfriends, and too many psychiatrists. But the most difficult guest was never on the list at all: a woman in a wedding dress and a gas mask, armed with a rifle, a bomb trigger strapped to her arm.
Lisa Zeidners audacious novel Love Bomb begins as a hostage drama and blossoms into a far-reaching tale about the infinite varieties of passion and heartbreak.
Who has offended this nutcase, and how? Does she seek revenge against the twice-divorced philanderer? Or is her agenda political—against the army general? Or the polygamous Muslim from Mali? While the warm, wise Helen attempts to bond with the masked woman and control the hysteria, the hostages begin to untangle what connects them to one another, and to their captor. But not until the SWAT team arrives does “the terrorist of love” unveil her real motives . . .
Critics have praised Lisa Zeidners prose for its “unforced edginess and power”; her fiction “shines with humor, wisdom, and poignancy.” In her most masterful novel yet, Zeidner gives us a tough yet tender social comedy, a romance with guts, a serious frolic written out of deep affection for all that it skewers.
Review
“Its been a while since Ive read a satire as deft and ambitious as Lisa Zeidners Love Bomb. Its a wildly entertaining read.” —Richard Russo, author of That Old Cape Magic and Empire Falls
Review
“Its been a while since Ive read a satire as deft and ambitious as Lisa Zeidners
Love Bomb. Its a wildly entertaining read.” —Richard Russo, author of
That Old Cape Magic and
Empire Falls“Cry at weddings? No? You probably would once Lisa Zeidners badass avenging feminist showed up in her gas mask and took you hostage—at least once you got done clutching your gut from the hilarity. Reading Love Bomb is like viewing the world through special glasses that make your perception off-kilter, keener, more attuned to the tragicomedy that surrounds us, to the gonzo miracle of loves outrageous resilience.” —Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia!
“If Jane Austen had lived to witness 9-11, Lisa Zeidners witty and terrifying comedy of romantic manners is what she would have written. Its brilliant, funny and scary.” —Rafael Yglesias, author of A Happy Marriage
Synopsis
An inventive, darkly funny novel about love, marriage, stalkers, and the indignities of parenthood
In quaint Haddonfield, New Jersey, Tess is about to get hitched in her childhood home. Her mother, Helen, is panicked about the guest list—warring exes, racial tensions, and way too many psychiatrists. But the most challenging guest turns out to be uninvited: a woman in a wedding dress, wearing a gas mask and toting a sawed-off shotgun, with a bomb trigger strapped to her arm.
So begins one of the strangest, most uproarious hostage situations ever to grace the printed page. As panic sets in, the guests demand, Who is this nutcase? What does she want? While the warm, wise Helen tries to unravel the mystery of their captors identity, the hostages share their own stories of passion and heartbreak—until the SWAT team arrives.
In Love Bomb, Lisa Zeidner delivers an explosive send-up of contemporary dating and mating, part Tom Perrotta and part Lorrie Moore. With its original premise and unusual cast of characters, this is a tough, tender social comedy and a romance with guts, written with affection for all that it skewers.
Synopsis
“Smart, funny, [and] irreverent...A perfect summer novel.”—Jonathan Yardley, The Washington
Author of Layover
New York Times Book Review Editors Choice
“Its been a while since Ive read a satire as deft and ambitious as Lisa Zeidners Love Bomb....Wildly entertaining.”—Richard Russo, author of That Old Cape Magic and Empire Falls
In quaint Haddonfield, New Jersey, Tess is about to marry Gabe in her childhood home. Her mother, Helen, is panicked about the guest list---which promises warring exes, racial tensions, and way too many psychiatrists. But the most challenging guest is an uninvited one: a woman who shows up in a wedding dress, wearing a gas mask and toting a sawed-off shotgun, with a bomb trigger strapped to her arm.
While the warm, wise Helen attempts to control the hysteria, the hostages begin to untangle their connections to their captor, and to one another. Together, they await the arrival of the SWAT team---and the moment when “the terrorist of love” reveals her true motives.
A tough, tender social comedy and a romance with guts, Love Bomb is written with deep affection for everything it skewers.
About the Author
Lisa Zeidner has published five novels, including the critically acclaimed Layover, and two books of poems. Her stories, reviews, and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Slate, GQ, Tin House, and elsewhere. She directs the M.F.A. program in creative writing at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey.
Reading Group Guide
For a Burns-Nathanson family tree and other extras, visit the authors website at lisazeidner.com.
1. What does the books title mean to you? (See page 43 for a discussion of the terms multiple meanings.)
2. What were your theories about why the hostage taker was really there? Which hostage seemed to be the culprit most likely to have enraged her—and how did you react when her real identity was revealed?
3. The novel includes many references to hostage dramas on TV and in movies. Why? How is the hostage situation in Love Bomb different from the typical ones?
4. Why is Helen more effective than the psychiatrists on the guest list at bonding with the HT? How did you feel about the psychiatrists competitive attempts at diagnosis?
5. While the hostages are stuck in the room, the author frequently takes you out of the situation at hand to hear about the hostages pasts and key events in their lives. How did you feel about the novels unusual structure? Why do you think the author employed it?
6. As you read about the novels lovers, which stories captured your attention the most? Did you find any patterns in the courtships? What would Helen assume about your circle of friends if she applied her skill in assessing the strength of a relationship by reading a couples body language?
7. What does Amys stalker, Kevin, teach us about the nature of obsession? Does Mara count as a stalker as well? At what point should persistence become defined as insanity?
8. The HT claims to be a feminist. Do you agree? Discuss the differences between the male and female responses to the hostage situation. Did you find the male characters less brave or faithful than the female ones? Or is Zeidners appraisal of her characters gender-neutral?
9. What does Love Bomb have to say about parenthood, how it changes marriages, and the lasting effects of childhood experiences in shaping our characters?
10. Many of the characters stories include details about their first meetings. What is the authors point about “love at first sight”?
11. Throughout the novel, which aspects of American culture are on display for the African cohort? Discuss the novels culture clashes—between black and white, Jewish and Muslim, American and African, urban and suburban.
12. Love Bomb has a large cast of characters. Does it have a hero—or heroine—in the traditional sense? Who is it?
13. How would the guest list (appearing at the back of the book) compare to your own clusters of family and friends if you were to host a similar event?
14. Discuss the aftermath of the wedding and the novels coda. How does the day bring out the best and the worst in the hosts, guests, caterers, and law enforcement?
15. How would you characterize the tone of the book? How does the author balance comedy with drama? Mockery of her characters with empathy for them?
16. Discuss the previous Lisa Zeidner novels you have read. How does she use wit and tragicomedy to open meaningful dialogues about the experience of love and loss?
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Lisa Zeidner