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A Novel
by Grant Ginder
Book Reviewed by:From Grant Ginder, the author of The People We Hate at the Wedding, comes Let's Not Do That Again a poignant, funny, and slyly beguiling novel which proves that, like democracy, family is a messy and fragile thing - perfect for fans of Veep's biting humor, the family drama of Succession, and the joys of Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here.
Nancy Harrison is running for Senate, and she's going to win, goddamnit. Not that that's her slogan, although it could be. She's said all the right things. Passed all the right legislation. Chapped her lips kissing babies. There's just one problem: her grown children.
Greta and Nick Harrison are adrift. Nick is floundering in his attempts to write a musical about the life of Joan Didion (called Hello to All That!). And then there's his little sister Greta. Smart, pretty, and completely unmotivated, allowing her life to pass her by like the shoppers at the Apple store where she works.
One morning the world wakes up not to Nancy making headlines, but her daughter, Greta. She's in Paris. With extremist protestors. Throwing a bottle of champagne through a beloved bistro's front window. In order to save her campaign, not to mention her daughter, Nancy and Nick must find Greta before it's too late.
This is a tender novel at its core. In the midst of its horrors (which are sometimes inappropriately funny), there is fighting, which means there is hope. There is hope for love to prevail, for oneself and one's family. I was enraptured by how much these characters would fight to love, under any and all wild circumstances. Ginder's book is not only a love letter to dysfunctional families, or even that side of the family you only see over holidays — it is a love letter to all families, to our loved ones, and to ourselves. It is a reminder that we fight for love because we care and we hope...continued
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(Reviewed by Lisa Ahima).
For a moment, I can pretend I am a professor, like Joan Didion-obsessed NYU English professor Nick Harrison in Grant Ginder's Let's Not Do That Again, as he discusses her 1961 essay "On Self-Respect" with his undergraduate class. For a moment, I can pretend that in the high evening before one of my part-time jobs, I am not 23, sitting in my parent's home, looking at teenage social media stars on Instagram buying a new mansion like it's a Barbie playhouse. I am not measuring my worth by who deems me worthy. I adopt Joan Didion's understanding of "self-respect," and by extension, confidence and self-ownership. With that being said, let's sit down and talk about what Didion meant in "On Self-Respect" and what it means in the context of modern ...
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If you liked Let's Not Do That Again, try these:
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by Emma Straub
Published 2021
A warm, funny, and keenly perceptive novel about the life cycle of one family--as the kids become parents, grandchildren become teenagers, and a matriarch confronts the legacy of her mistakes. From the New York Times bestselling author of Modern Lovers and The Vacationers.
Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of Good Company and The Nest
Nobody's better than Grant Ginder at creating characters who are deeply flawed, vividly human, and wholly recognizable. Let's Not Do That Again is not only perfectly tuned to this moment in time, but is hilarious, suspenseful, and whip smart. It's also wise—wise about the ways we sometimes fail to love and care for each other but choose to keep trying. Like the best stories (and in spite of the book's title) I can't wait to read it again.
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