276°
Posted 20 hours ago

The Paper Palace: The No.1 New York Times Bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Bookclub Pick

£9.9£99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

Miranda Phillips Cowley Heller (born in 1961 or 1962) [1] is a writer, novelist, and TV developer. She is known for her debut novel, The Paper Palace, which was published in 2021 to acclaim. Cowley Heller has had a prolific career across books, magazines, and TV. [1] She began her career at Cosmopolitan magazine where she worked as a fiction and books editor. [1] [4] [3] She spent a decade as head of drama series at HBO in the early 2000s. [6] While at HBO, she worked on hit shows such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Big Love, and Deadwood. [4] [7] As a writer, she has worked both as a ghostwriter and a screenwriting editor. [6] In 2021, she published her own debut novel, The Paper Palace. [1] TV [ edit ] Elle invites Peter to New York to meet Wallace, who emerges from her deep depression to entertain them. This is pitched as a story about Elle, her husband Peter and her friend/lover Jonas, but it's much more than that. It's a story about an entire family over 50 years, and how generations of family history can influence our present.

It’s refreshing to encounter a novel in which a fiftysomething woman is so intensely desired by two pretty decent men. In the multigenerational story, we see the reverberations of the choices made by grandparents and parents, and the scars they have left on Elle herself. In what way do those scars reveal themselves, and is it possible to break the cycle? Beware….of taboo scenes: sex, lies, cheating, rape, incest, …..but it would be a shame —IMO if this book was labeled and categorized as the naughty-distasteful- book - because it’s NOT! A family drama, a forbidden love story, a childhood tragedy, this is a stunning literary debut that will leave you reeling i The fact that she’s taking her wedding ring from Peter off “one last time” could also mean that she will be leaving it on going forwardI particularly liked the ending, which has a note of ambiguity - enough to make me re-read the last section, which I felt then clarified Elle's decision for me. It was so subtly done at the end but the clues were actually there throughout, which was very clever. It raises questions about whether our decisions are based on the moment or are actually inevitably based on everything that has come before. This was like a bad rash. Irritated the living daylights out of me and wouldn't go away. I should have DNF'ed it but I admit to a morbid curiosity to find out who she'd choose. Heller’s outstanding debut follows Elle Bishop, on holiday at her family’s lakeside home in Cape Cod, contemplating the status of her marriage after a brief moment of passion with a former lover. As the narrative spins between the present and the past, cataloguing a series of decisive moments in Elle’s life, Heller deftly builds up a portrait of her and the dilemma she faces. In captivating prose and with deep emotional insight, Heller creates a vivid and arresting novel about the complexity and frailty of love and marriage. Dinner With Joseph Johnson: Books and Friendship in a Revolutionary Age Team, i (2022-04-21). "Miranda Cowley Heller: 'I write in a big old barn looking over the treetops on Cape Cod' ". inews.co.uk . Retrieved 2023-02-06. Cowley Heller] brings to fiction an understanding of how to layer storylines, as well as an assured feel for dialogue and visual description . . . a skilful portrait The Oldie, Book of the Month

The individuals who find themselves at The Paper Palace are as susceptible to the elements as the house is. Consider adult Elle and Jonas’s intimate beach scene, their dangerous sailing trip, etc. What role do nature and the weather play in the story? How is the outside, natural world used to echo Elle’s interior journey?As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day, we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity. Tender yet devastating, The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity, the legacies of abuse, and the crimes and misdemeanors of families. When Elle is in her 20s, she is almost mugged in London. The mugger wants her to hand over the green ring glass that Jonas gave her. A Brit called Peter rescues her (and her ring) and they start dating. This book really affected me… but in a positive way. It’s not often I read a book that makes me feel emotional purely down to the writing style alone. As an aspiring writer, this novel makes my stomach drop (in the best way) and gives me a warm feeling in my chest; it really makes you FEEL. I think the ending could be controversial, some readers may not be satisfied with it. After some reflection, I’ve decided that I like the ending. It’s realistic, and I think the author has masterfully depicted that life isn’t a fairytale, and sometimes love itself isn’t enough. And sometimes, the choices we have to make are really not ‘that simple’. Can you ever truly have what you desire in life without sacrifice? The novel is set in Cape Cod, a setting the author describes with vivid intimacy. In what ways has this place grounded and shaped the lives of the Bishops?

When I was little, my cousin, who’s a literary editor now, and I would write pornographic poetry and stories together. They were really dirty – like, psycho. Gang rapes and iambic pentameters about erect knights. So I think sex scenes never scared me, except that my sons have not yet read the book, and nor has my dad. Well I've set a record with this one. Sometimes I DNF early, usually around 25%, sometimes before that; but I quit here in the middle of the 3rd sentence. If you are a person who is impressed by overwritten slush, stop reading here and walk away. Or in your preferred langue du commerce, relinquish the tome in your bejeweled, alabaster digits and prance haughtily from this verbose online chamber of literary enlightenment. With your chapeau atilt. The novel is set in Cape Cod and follows Elle’s life as she struggles with her feelings for two men, Peter, her husband, and Jonas, her childhood sweetheart. Elle has known Jonas since she was a child, and they have always had a special connection. However, Elle is married to Peter and is the mother of three children. The novel explores the complexities of Elle’s relationships and her struggles with her feelings for both men. I thought this was a book about a middle aged, married mother of three who has sex with her childhood BFF and first love. Oooh, now what will she do?? Wrong. This is the life story of a middle aged, white, privileged New England woman and there's the bit about the two utterly perfect men who love her tremendously. Even though she is a liar and a cheat. But these men, wow, perfect.

Tightly woven and immediate, The Paper Palace takes us deep into a vivid summer landscape, a family, and a private, longstanding love story, and holds us there from start to finish.” —Meg Wolitzer, New York Times bestselling author of The Interestings and The Female Persuasion Captivating debut… full of lush atmospheric details. This will keep the reader guessing all the way to the end.” — Publishers Weekly

What I took from that chapter in my life was how to write real dialogue. People don’t lead each other in conversation, they often repeat each other. It’s the unsaid, the spaces in between, that are so cool. And of course I visualise everything very filmically. The oath they made to keep the secret about Conrad’s death, and the ring he gave her, were a dark kind of ceremonial promise. The story of Elle’s life is troubling. Her mother, Wallace, is THE WORSE MOTHER EVER in my opinion. But Wallace didn’t have the best upbringing herself. Wallace is self-involved and blunt. Her haughty attitudes are so horrendous and cringe worthy that I snorted in derision while listening. Again, narrator Nan McNamara captures Wallace’s attitudes superbly. I believe McNamara made the story better. I know when I read it, I will have McNamara’s performance voice in my head. Elle’s father is no prize either. He passively neglected his girls. In the final scene of The Paper Palace, Elle takes her wedding ring off “one last time” and leaves it when she goes to meet Jonas in the pond. Drowning Symbolism in The Paper PalaceIt's beautifully written with insights that resonated so much with me. I loved all of the characters and wanted to spend more time with them, even those who were meant to be unlikeable. The coastal setting in Cape Cod was the perfect place for the story to unfold, with the 'Paper Palace' house feeling like a character in its own right.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment