Synopses & Reviews
ONE OF
PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S TOP TEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING HILARY SWANK, EMMY ROSSUM AND JOSH DUHAMEL
College student Bec is dangerously adrift. Self-conscious and increasingly uncertain about her long-term plans, shes studying a major that no longer interests her and is caught up in a bewildering affair with a married professor. In an impulsive attempt to redeem herself, she answers a want ad seeking a caregiver.
What she finds is a wealthy, cultivated woman in her midthirties. Once an advertising executive, accomplished chef, and skilled decorator, Kate is now in the advanced stages of ALS (Lou Gehrigs disease). She and her husband, Evan, handle their situation with mordant humor, careful planning, and a lot of determination. Yet while Bec perceives the couple as charmingly frank and good-humored, strains exist beneath the surface.
Bec is soon a vital part of her employers household, and their increasing closeness transforms both womens lives and their relationships. The more she acts on Kates behalf, the further Bec strays from her stringent comfort zone. She performs every task, from the most administrative to the most intimate, and she translates Kates speech for strangers, friends, and even family. Sometimes enthusiastically, sometimes reluctantly, Bec advances further and further into Kates world, surprised by her own increasing dedication and ease. But how closely can Bec intertwine her own life with Kates?
The two confront their obstacles unsentimentally, with dark humor and unflinching candor, as their relationship is slowly stripped of pretense. Honesty becomes their touchstone: They may find humor in the most devastating moments, but they wont pretend to believe in silver linings that dont exist. With crystal clarity, debut author Michelle Wildgen has crafted a deeply affecting novel about the singular relationship between two women, balancing humor and regret, sensuality and necessity, and testing the outer limits of friendship.
Review
“Michelle Wildgen writes with a fresh, appealing honesty and has done a marvelous job of capturing that youthful moment in our lives when we are like sponges ready to soak up someone else's character, taste and charm.”—Francine Prose,
People (four stars, critic's choice)
“A complex and satisfying dish: a story of intimate strangers and their impact on each other's lives.”—O, the Oprah Magazine
“A deeply sensual book.”—The Believer
“A fresh, accomplished novel...tackles challenging material with honesty and a clear eye.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Wildgen's debut showcases the talent tyhat won her inclusion in Best New American Voices 2004, and should take her further still.”—Publishers Weekly
“What an enjoyable and deeply satisfying novel. Michelle Wildgen manages to capture, in some extraordinary way, what it's like to be a fairly ordinary college student, waiting for one's life to begin. An exhilarating debut.”—Margot Livesey, author of Banishing Verona
“Michelle Wildgen writes with a lush, fierce clarity about the most private and complex of matters: the relationship between identity and intimacy, the body's pleasures and profound betrayals, the sharp impact of loss, and the gifts of deep attachment. You're Not You is startling and smart, a wise, beautiful novel.”—Nancy Reisman, author of The First Desire
“With Youre Not You, Michelle Wildgen has produced an artful and slyly seductive debut novel about a caregiver in full thrall to her charges steely hold on sensuality, taste, and grace.””—Helen Schulman, author of P.S.
Review
"Michelle Wildgen writes with a fresh, appealing honesty and has done a marvelous job of capturing that youthful moment in our lives when we are like sponges ready to soak up someone else's character, taste, and charm."--Francine Prose,
People (four stars, Critic's Choice)
"A complex and satisfying dish: a story of intimate strangers and their impact on each other's lives."--O, The Oprah Magazine
"A fresh, accomplished first novel . . . tackles challenging material with honesty and a clear eye."--Kirkus Reviews
"A deeply sensual book."--The Believer
"Wildgen's debut showcases the talent that won her inclusion in Best New American Voices 2004, and should take her further still."--Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
YOU'RE NOT YOU IS NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING HILARY SWANK, EMMY ROSSUM, AND JOSH DUHAMEL.
Bec is adrift. It's the summer before her junior year in college. She's sleeping with a married professor, losing interest in her classes, and equivocating about her career. She takes a job caring for Kate, a thirty-six-year-old woman who has been immobilized by ALS.
As it turns out, before the disease Kate was a stylish and commanding woman, an advertising executive and an accomplished chef. Now, as she and Bec spend long days together, Bec begins to absorb Kate's sophistication and her sensuality, cooking for her, sharing her secrets, and gradually beginning to live her own life with a boldness informed by Kate's influence. The more intense her commitment to Kate, the further Bec strays from the complacency of her college life. And when Kate's marriage veers into dangerous territory, Bec will have to choose between the values of her old life and the allure of an entirely new one.
Synopsis
YOU'RE NOT YOU IS NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING HILARY SWANK, EMMY ROSSUM, AND JOSH DUHAMEL.
Bec is adrift. It's the summer before her junior year in college. She's sleeping with a married professor, losing interest in her classes, and equivocating about her career. She takes a job caring for Kate, a thirty-six-year-old woman who has been immobilized by ALS.
As it turns out, before the disease Kate was a stylish and commanding woman, an advertising executive and an accomplished chef. Now, as she and Bec spend long days together, Bec begins to absorb Kate's sophistication and her sensuality, cooking for her, sharing her secrets, and gradually beginning to live her own life with a boldness informed by Kate's influence. The more intense her commitment to Kate, the further Bec strays from the complacency of her college life. And when Kate's marriage veers into dangerous territory, Bec will have to choose between the values of her old life and the allure of an entirely new one.
About the Author
Michelle Wildgen is a senior editor at the literary quarterly Tin House. She earned an MFA in fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and has received a scholarship to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. She is author of the novel But Not For Long, and her articles have appeared in The New York Times, Best New American Voices, and many more. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.