“In her clever modern twist on the epistolary form, Rieger excavates the humor and humanity from a most bitter uncoupling.”—Emily Giffin, The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“A witty first novel . . . providing all the voyeuristic pleasure of snooping through someone else’s inbox.”—People
Sophie Diehl is happily toiling away at an old-line New England law firm when Mayflower descendant Mia Meiklejohn Durkheim strides through the door. While dining at the most chic eatery in town, Mia was handed a most unwanted substitute for the wine list: divorce papers.
Sophie reluctantly steps away from her criminal law casework to conduct Mia’s intake interview and, to her dismay, Mia insists she take the case—Sophie is just who she needs to take on her soon-to-be-ex and his thuggish lawyers. For Sophie, the whole affair sparks a hard look at the relationships in her own life with parents, friends, and lovers.
A rich, layered novel told entirely through personal correspondence, office memos, e-mails, articles, handwritten notes, and legal documents, The Divorce Papers offers a direct window into the lives of an entertaining cast of characters never shy about speaking their minds.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
March 18, 2014 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780804137454
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780804137454
- File size: 14752 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Publisher's Weekly
Starred review from November 18, 2013
In Rieger’s clever and funny debut—an epistolary novel told through memos, e-mails, and letters—Sophie Diehl is a criminal lawyer, working for a law firm in the fictional state of Narragansett in New England, similar to Massachusetts. As she says herself, “I like that most of my clients are in jail. They can’t get to me; I can only get to them.” One of the firm’s managing partners asks her to do an intake interview for Mia Meiklejohn Durkheim, daughter of one of the firm’s most important clients, whose husband served her with divorce papers at a local restaurant. Sophie reluctantly acquiesces and has to learn how to handle a divorce case (rather than a criminal one), while juggling family dynamics, nasty interoffice politics, and the ups and downs of her own romantic life, all as the year 2000 approaches. Lovers of the epistolary style will find much to appreciate. Rieger’s tone, textured structure, and lively voice make this debut a winner. Agent: Kathy Robbins, Robbins Office. -
Library Journal
February 15, 2014
Sophie Diehl is a criminal lawyer, and she prefers working with the incarcerated. However, filling in for a vacationing colleague results in her handling a divorce case--and not just any divorce case but that of a major client's daughter, Mia Meiklejohn Durkheim. Sophie works through this assignment while simultaneously trying to come to terms with her complicated love life and her own divorced parents. VERDICT This debut novel is written in what the author calls "Epistolary 2.0" through emails, memos, and the occasional note. While this concept is intriguing, the legal documents on Mia's divorce bogs down the pace. Though these items are easily skipped without losing the story line, they are numerous enough to disrupt the flow of the novel. At a certain point, one wonders why these incredibly detailed legal agreements are in the book at all. At the same time, Sophie becomes rather whiny when her family life and love life are not perfect, though there's really not much wrong to begin with. The only saving grace is the character of divorcee Mia, who manages to be funny and real.--Brooke Bolton, North Manchester P.L., IN
Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Formats
- Kindle Book
- OverDrive Read
- EPUB ebook
subjects
Languages
- English
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