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Curtis Sittenfeld

    23 agosto 1975

    Curtis Sittenfeld esplora le complessità delle relazioni e delle aspettative sociali con arguzia tagliente e acuta osservazione. Le sue opere si addentrano spesso in temi di identità, appartenenza e ricerca del sé all'interno delle strutture familiari e sociali. Sittenfeld eccelle nel catturare le emozioni umane autentiche e nell'offrire commenti arguti sulla vita contemporanea. La sua capacità di reinventare narrazioni classiche in un'ambientazione moderna, pur conservandone lo spirito essenziale, dimostra la sua abilità letteraria.

    Curtis Sittenfeld
    American Wife
    Help Yourself
    Rodham
    Show Don't Tell
    Writers & lovers
    Prep
    • Prep

      • 495pagine
      • 18 ore di lettura

      Lee Fiora, quattordicenne cresciuta in una cittadina dell'Indiana, ottiene una borsa di studio per la preparatory ("prep") school di Ault, nel Massachusetts,un prestigioso liceo che prepara all'università. È - come prometteva il dépliant - un ambiente esclusivo di antichi edifici e prati curatissimi, di ragazzi dai sorrisi smaglianti e belle ragazze in kilt. Ciò che non diceva il dépliant, e che Lee capisce subito, è che lei sarà sempre un'outsider tra irampolli delle ricche famiglie della East Coast, intimidita e attratta dai suoi compagni. Proprio perché è un'estranea, un pesce fuor d'acqua, Lee riesce acogliere con spietata acutezza i tratti essenziali dei caratteri, delle relazioni, dei rituali di alunni e insegnanti.

      Prep
      3,5
    • Exuberant and affirming, it's funny and immensely clever, emotionally rare and strong. I feel bereft now I've finished' Tessa Hadley Casey has ended up back in Massachusetts after a devastating love affair. Her mother has just died and she is knocked sideways by grief and loneliness, moving between the restaurant where she waitresses for the Harvard elite and the rented shed she calls home. Her one constant is the novel she has been writing for six years, but at thirty-one she is in debt and directionless, and feels too old to be that way - it's strange, not be the youngest kind of adult anymore. And then, one evening, she meets Silas. He is kind, handsome, interested. But only a few weeks later, Oscar walks into her restaurant, his two boys in tow. He is older, grieving the loss of his wife, and wrapped up in his own creativity. Suddenly Casey finds herself at the point of a love triangle, stuck between two very different relationships that promise two very different futures. Lily King's Writers & Lovers follows Casey in the last days of a long youth, a time when everything - her family, her work, her relationships - comes to a crisis. Hugely moving and impossibly funny, it is a transfixing novel that explores the terrifying and exhilarating leap between the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another. It is a novel about love and creativity, and ultimately it captures the moment when a woman becomes an artist.

      Writers & lovers
      4,0
    • Show Don't Tell

      Stories

      • 304pagine
      • 11 ore di lettura

      This collection blends humor and intelligence to delve into themes of marriage, friendship, fame, and artistic ambition. It features a standout story that revisits a beloved character from Curtis Sittenfeld's acclaimed novel Prep. The work showcases the author's signature wit and emotional depth, providing readers with a thought-provoking and entertaining experience.

      Show Don't Tell
      3,9
    • Rodham

      • 400pagine
      • 14 ore di lettura

      WHAT IF HILLARY RODHAM HAD TURNED DOWN BILL CLINTON'S PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE? 'Awfully opinionated for a girl' is what they call Hillary as she grows up in her Chicago suburb. Smart, diligent, and a bit plain, that's the general consensus. Then Hillary goes to college, and her star rises. At Yale Law School, she continues to be a leader- and catches the eye of driven, handsome and charismatic Bill. But when he asks her to marry him, Hillary gives him a firm No. The rest, as they say, isn't history. How might things have turned out for them, for America, for the world itself, if Hillary Rodham had really turned down Bill Clinton? With her sharp but always compassionate eye, Sittenfeld explores the loneliness, moral ambivalence and iron determination that characterise the quest for high office, as well as the painful compromises demanded of female ambition in a world ruled by men. Uncannily astute and witty in the telling, RODHAM is a brilliant reimagining - an unmissable literary landmark and truly a novel of our times.

      Rodham
      3,9
    • Help Yourself

      • 96pagine
      • 4 ore di lettura

      This collection of stories illuminates human experience and gracefully upends our assumptions about class and race, envy and disappointment, gender and celebrity

      Help Yourself
      3,8
    • American Wife

      • 573pagine
      • 21 ore di lettura

      In the year 2000, in the closest election in American history, Alice Blackwell's husband becomes president of the United States. Their time in the White House proves to be heady, tumultuous, and controversial. But it is Alice's own story - that of a kind, bookish, only child born in the 1940s Midwest who comes to inhabit a life of dizzying wealth and power - that is itself remarkable. Alice candidly describes her small-town upbringing, and the tragedy that shaped her identity; she recalls her early adulthood as a librarian, and her surprising courtship with the man who swept her off her feet; she tells of the crisis that almost ended their marriage; and she confides the privileges and difficulties of being first lady, a role that is uniquely cloistered and public, secretive and exposed. In Alice Blackwell, Curtis Sittenfeld has created her most dynamic and complex heroine yet. American Wife is not a novel about politics. It is a gorgeously written novel that weaves race, class, fate and wealth into a brilliant tapestry. It is a novel in which the unexpected becomes inevitable, and the pleasures and pain of intimacy and love are laid bare.

      American Wife
      3,7
    • The Best American Short Stories 2020

      • 400pagine
      • 14 ore di lettura

      New York Times best-selling author Curtis Sittenfeld selects the twenty best short stories of the year.

      The Best American Short Stories 2020
      3,7
    • You Think It, I'll Say It

      • 288pagine
      • 11 ore di lettura

      SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 SUNDAY TIMES EFG SHORT STORY AWARD: 'Do-Over', one of the stories in this dazzling, smart and razor-sharp first collection by Curtis Sittenfeld, Sunday Times bestselling author of Eligible and American Wife. In ‘The World Has Many Butterflies’, a married woman flirts with a man she meets at parties by playing You think it, I’ll say it, putting into words the bitchy things she guesses he's thinking about their fellow guests. But she is in for a shock when, in time, she finds out what was really in his mind. ‘The Nominee’ sees Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail, confessing her surprising true feelings about a woman journalist she has sparred with over the years. In ‘Gender Studies’, a visiting academic sleeps with her taxi driver, for what turns out to be all the wrong reasons.The theme that unites these stories is how even the cleverest people tend to misread others, and how much we all deceive ourselves. Sharp and tender, funny and wise, they show Sittenfeld’s knack for creating real, believable characters that spring off the page, while also skewering contemporary mores with brilliant dry wit.

      You Think It, I'll Say It
      3,7
    • A Reese's Book Club Pick and bestseller, this humorous and tender novel follows Sally Milz, a successful script writer for a late-night TV comedy show, who has given up on love after a series of heartbreaks. When her friend starts dating a glamorous actress, Sally channels her frustration into a sketch that critiques the societal norms of romance, particularly how average-looking men often date beautiful women while the reverse seems unlikely. Her perspective shifts when she meets Noah, a pop idol known for dating models. This encounter forces her to confront her assumptions about love and attraction. The story cleverly explores the complexities of modern relationships, challenging the notion that life mirrors a romantic comedy. With sharp wit and compassion, the narrative delves into the unpredictable nature of love, revealing that the heart often defies societal expectations. Readers have praised the book for its engaging characters and humor, describing it as a delightful escape that offers a masterclass in writing. It stands out for making its characters feel more authentic than typical romantic comedies, ensuring a reading experience that is both enjoyable and thought-provoking.

      Romantic Comedy
      3,6
    • Eligible

      • 544pagine
      • 20 ore di lettura

      THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'This is Pride and Prejudice 2.0 and I must confess, I liked it more than the original' STYLIST 'Bold and brilliant' GLAMOUR 'Sheer joy... Giddy and glam and a hearty update of Pride and Prejudice' JESSIE BURTON, author of The Miniaturist Liz and Jane Bennet return to suburban Cincinnati to persuade their mother to stop overfeeding their father post-surgery, tidy their crumbling family home, and help their three sisters break free from their stagnation. Under one roof, old dynamics resurface, and the pressure of their single status becomes unbearable for these successful women in their late thirties. However, a BBQ at the Lucas family's home introduces them to some eligible men, sparking new possibilities. This dazzling, heartwarming narrative catapults the beloved classic into the modern world, filled with humor and authenticity. Praise for this modern retelling includes accolades from Elle, Judy Blume, Red, Woman and Home, Nigella Lawson, and the New York Times, highlighting the charm, wit, and romance reminiscent of the original while delivering a fresh, delightful experience.

      Eligible
      3,6
    • For identical twins, Kate and Violet are about as unlike as two peas from the same pod can be. Except in one respect - they share a hidden gift they call 'the Senses', a special kind of intuition that can allow them to see things that are yet to come. After Kate inadvertently reveals their secret when they are thirteen years old, they are set on diverging paths into their adult lives. Twenty years later Kate is a suburban housewife who suppresses her premonitions in the hope of leading a normal family life, while Violet lives alone and works as a psychic medium. Then one day Violet ignites a media storm by predicting a major earthquake in the St Louis area where they live. As the day Violet has announced for the earthquake draws nearer, the sisters must grapple with the legacy of the past, the confusion of the present, and the unsettling glimpses they both have of the future.

      Sisterland
      3,3
    • The Man of My Dreams

      • 304pagine
      • 11 ore di lettura

      Hannah Gavener is fourteen in the summer of 1991, navigating a world where celebrity weddings contrast sharply with her parents’ crumbling marriage. As she transitions from Philadelphia to Boston to Albuquerque over the next decade and a half, she grapples with increasingly complex questions about love and relationships. At what point do childhood issues cease to be an excuse for adult failures? Is settling for someone less than your soulmate a sign of maturity or defeat? Moving for a guy who may not reciprocate your feelings—are you being brave or foolish? Hannah's relationships are fraught with complications, from her stubborn father to her captivating cousin Fig, whose antics both fascinate and frustrate her. She falls for Henry in college, despite his relationship with Fig, and encounters boyfriends who either love her deeply or break her heart. By her late twenties, Hannah has a clearer vision of what she desires, yet she struggles with the courage to pursue it. With a blend of honesty and humor, this narrative offers a profound and beautifully crafted exploration of the external influences and personal decisions that shape our identities.

      The Man of My Dreams
      3,3
    • Muž mých snů

      • 214pagine
      • 8 ore di lettura

      Upřímný a sympatický příběh o představách mladé ženy o rodině a lásce, střetávající se s nástrahami a realitou života. Hannah Gavenerové bylo v létě roku 1991 čtrnáct let. V časopisech, které čítala, ji zajímaly především historky o tom, jak slavné osobnosti plánují honosné svatby. A přitom se manželství jejích rodičů rozpadá. A někde mezi těmito dvěma extrémy by se měly nacházet odpovědi na znepokojující otázky o lásce. V následujících patnácti letech Hannah zjišťuje, jaké tyto otázky jsou a jak složité je hledání odpovědí. Žádný ze vztahů v životě Hannah není bez komplikací. Je tu její otec, jehož tvrdohlavost ke své smůle zdědila. Její oslnivý bratranec Fig, jehož neslušné chování ji střídavě přitahuje a odpuzuje. Henry, do něhož se na škole poprvé zamiluje. Jsou tu další přátelé, kteří ji více nebo méně milují a lámou jí srdce. A v době, kdy jí táhne na třicítku, konečně zjistí, co si přeje nejvíc, ale ještě neví, zda bude mít odvahu za svým přáním jít..

      Muž mých snů
      4,0