George and Lizzie - by Nancy Pearl (Paperback)

About the Book

-From -America's librarian- and NPR books commentator Nancy Pearl comes an emotionally riveting debut novel about an unlikely marriage at a crossroads. George and Lizzie have radically different understandings of what love and marriage should be. George grew up in a warm and loving family--his father an orthodontist, his mother a stay-at-home mom--while Lizzie grew up as the only child of two famous psychologists, who viewed her more as an in-house experiment than a child to love. Over the course of their marriage, nothing has changed--George is happy; Lizzie remains...unfulfilled. When a shameful secret from Lizzie's past resurfaces, she'll need to face her fears in order to accept the true nature of the relationship she and George have built over a decade together. With pitch-perfect prose and compassion and humor to spare, George and Lizzie is an intimate story of new and past loves, the scars of childhood, and an imperfect marriage at its defining moments---

Book Synopsis

From "America's librarian" and NPR books commentator Nancy Pearl comes an emotional, "Anne-Tyler-esque" (Library Journal) debut novel about an unlikely marriage at a crossroads.

George and Lizzie are a couple, meeting as college students and marrying soon after graduation, but no one would ever describe them of being soulmates. George grew up in a warm and loving family--his father an orthodontist, his mother a stay-at-home mom--while Lizzie was the only child of two famous psychologists, who viewed her more as an in-house experiment than a child to love.

After a decade of marriage, nothing has changed--George is happy; Lizzie remains...unfulfilled. But when George discovers that Lizzie has been searching for the whereabouts of an old boyfriend, Lizzie is forced to decide what love means to her, what George means to her, and whether her life with George is the one she wants.

With pitch-perfect prose and compassion and humor to spare, George and Lizzie is "a richly absorbing portrait of a perfectly imperfect marriage," (Amy Poeppel, author of Small Admissions), and "a story of forgiveness, especially for one's self" (The Washington Post).

Review Quotes

[A]n homage to true love, painful childhood experiences, and emotional scars that last a lifetime. It's a story of forgiveness, especially for one's self....Extraordinary.-- "Washington Post"

As sparkling as Prosecco, as jubilantly quirky and inventive a love story as you could ever want, and a jigsaw puzzle you never want to finish. If I could marry a novel, this wise, witty and rapturously inventive book would be it.--Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of CRUEL BEAUTIFUL WORLD and PICTURES OF YOU

FEATURED IN SOUTHERN LIVING'S "Books Coming Out in the Fall That We Can't Wait to Read"

GEORGE AND LIZZIE is a fresh, sweet, funny, and completely charming love story between two people, two families, and two unlikely paths in life, which somehow find their way to each other. To read this novel is to see family, love, and life in a new light.
--Lisa Scottoline, #1 New York Times bestselling author

GEORGE AND LIZZIE is an unusual story about a marriage, except that really it's a story about growing up, except that really it's a story about a cast of uncommon, bewitching characters I could have happily read about for a month. It's smart, funny, warmly sketched, cleverly put together, engagingly told, and sums to something wonderful and unexpected. I will be recommending it unrelentingly to everyone I know.
--Laurie Frankel, author of THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS

GEORGE AND LIZZIE overflows with humor and heart, with quirks and eccentricities, with unforgettable characters....Her story daringly and playfully jumbles time and convention, gathering heft and humor as it unfolds. The end result is an irresistible debut by a born storyteller.
--Jim Lynch, author of Before the Wind

Nancy Pearl has long been a bright light in the literary world--what a delight to bask in the glow of her debut novel. GEORGE AND LIZZIE is a richly absorbing portrait of a perfectly imperfect marriage; a wryly observed story of family, love, and absurdity; and a deft consideration of the moments that shadow and shape our lives, and just might take on lives of their own.--Amy Poeppel, author of SMALL ADMISSIONS

Nancy Pearl understands the desperate, confused, needy heart that beats under the surface of even the most dysfunctional of relationships, and exposes it with wit and genuine love. Oh, and you'll never think about football the same way again.--Katherine Heiny, author of SINGLE, CAREFREE, MELLOW and STANDARD DEVIATIONS

Pearl dramatizes a complicated and deeply illuminating union of opposites and conducts profound inquiries into the self, family, empathy, and love. The result is a charming, edgy, and many faceted novel of penetrating humor and resonant insight.
--Donna Seaman "Booklist (starred review)"

Read GEORGE AND LIZZIE. This smart novel has a smashing premise, an engaging cast of characters, and a voice that propels you from first page to last with its wit, insight into secrets, families, and football, and its unrelenting energy.--Stephen McCauley, author of THE OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION and MY EX-LIFE

With eccentric characters, relationship drama, and a vivid sense of place, this Anne Tyler-esque debut novel is sure to interest and please Pearl's many fans.-- "Library Journal"