Good Riddance

Elinor Lipman

‘A vastly entertaining screwball comedy’ Washington Post

Decluttering her tiny New York apartment, Daphne Maritch decides to throw out any belongings that do not spark joy.

These include a high-school yearbook inherited from her school teacher mother, June, to whom the class of ’68 dedicated the volume. June in turn attended every class reunion, scribbling notes and observations – not always charitably – after each one.

When neighbour Geneva Wisenkorn finds the discarded book and wants to use it for her own ends, Daphne realises she wants to keep it after all. Fighting to reclaim it, she uncovers some alarming Maritch family secrets and sets in motion a series of events that prove to be both poignant and absurd.

Good Riddance is a vastly entertaining screwball comedy from the Jane Austen of modern New York.

‘An enchanting, infinitely witty yet serious, exceptionally intelligent, wholly original, and Austen-like stylist’ Fay Weldon, Washington Post

‘I was new to Lipman, but I loved her signature snappy style and gently satirical detail. From dog-walkers to state senators, chocolate courses to trash TV, all American life is here’ Wendy Holden, Daily Mail

‘You’ll definitely be delighted. Can an entire book function as a shaggy-dog story?’ Washington Post

‘A caper novel, light as a feather and effortlessly charming. It inspires a very specific kind of modern joy’ New York Times

‘The author has long been one of our wittiest chroniclers of modern-day romance. Her writing is brisk and intelligent, and if the plot of this novel is zanier than her usual fare, that too may show just how plugged-in she is to our far-fetched times’ Wall Street Journal

Paperback

Published: Lightning (March 2020)

ISBN: 9781785631689