Ms. Demeanor: a novel

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Finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor

“Ms. Demeanor is a complete and utter delight. Of course it is. What Elinor Lipman novel isn’t?”—Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls and Chances Are . . .

“Who knew house arrest could be sexy and fun? Not me, at least not until I read Ms. Demeanor. Written with Elinor Lipman’s signature wit and charm, this breezy, engrossing novel tells the story of two people who make the most of their shared confinement.”—Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author of Tracy Flick Can’t Win

“When a neighbor’s complaint about consensual al fresco sex turns into house arrest and a suspended legal license, Jane’s recipe for survival involves cooking for another home-arrested tenant (could this be a match made in confinement?) while trying to figure out the whys and hows of her mysterious accuser. Filled with food, family, romance and intrigue, Lipman’s novel cooks up a bounty of delights as sparkling as prosecco and as deeply satisfying and delicious as a five-star meal.”—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You 

From one of America’s most beloved contemporary novelists, a delicious and witty story about love under house arrest

Jane Morgan is a valued member of her law firm—or was, until a prudish neighbor, binoculars poised, observes her having sex on the roof of her NYC apartment building.  Police are summoned, and a punishing judge sentences her to six months of home confinement. With Jane now jobless and rootless, trapped at home, life looks bleak. Yes, her twin sister provides support and advice, but mostly of the unwelcome kind. When a doorman lets slip that Jane isn't the only resident wearing an ankle monitor, she strikes up a friendship with fellow white-collar felon Perry Salisbury. As she tries to adapt to life within her apartment walls, she discovers she hasn’t heard the end of that tattletale neighbor—whose past isn’t as decorous as her 9-1-1 snitching would suggest. Why are police knocking on Jane’s door again? Can her house arrest have a silver lining? Can two wrongs make a right? In the hands of "an inspired alchemist who converts serious subject into humor” (New York Times Book Review)—yes, delightfully.  

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ISBN
9780063274341
9780063294219
9780063280298

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39-year-old women dealing with life-changing events strike up an unlikely friendship (and bond over food) with a senior woman (Miss Cecily's Recipes) and a fellow tenant under house arrest (Ms. Demeanor) in these witty relationship-focused reads -- Andrienne Cruz
These books have the appeal factors amusing, upbeat, and fun read, and they have the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "sisters" and "mothers and daughters."
These books have the appeal factors fun read, and they have the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "life change events," "men-women relations," and "single women."
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These books have the appeal factors upbeat and fun read, and they have the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subject "life change events."
These books have the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subject "men-women relations."

Similar Authors From NoveList

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Mameve Medwed and Elinor Lipman share a very similar, wry style. Their novels are contemporary and humorous, and feature everyday women dealing with family relationships. Considered modern comedies of manners, they are also very character-led. -- Rebecca Vnuk
Both Elinor Lipman and Adriana Trigiani write domestic fiction featuring average women and focusing on their relationships with family and friends. Their novels similarly display a sense of humor, have a relaxed pace, and are uplifting in tone. -- Nanci Milone Hill
Sue Monk Kidd and Elinor Lipman both write domestic and psychological fiction that provides keen insights into family dynamics. Whether writing a coming of age story or a tale of homecoming, Kidd and Lipman combine character-driven narratives and strong female protagonists with elements of humor, mystery, and romance. -- Keeley Murray
Though Elinor Lipman's work tends to be more upbeat than Jojo Moyes', both write engaging and moving stories that star women who, while pursuing new romance, find ways to love themselves in the process. -- Stephen Ashley
Meg Wolitzer and Elinor Lipman both often deal with family and social issues. Wolitzer's novels, while a touch more serious, do a nice job of capturing their times and acting as social satire--fans of those characteristics in Lipman's works will enjoy this in Wolitzer's novels. -- Rebecca Vnuk
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Published Reviews

Library Journal Reviews

In Allen's wrap-up to the "Black Girls Must Die Exhausted" trilogy, Tabitha Walker balances new motherhood, new job possibilities, new friendship issues, and an ultimatum from boyfriend Marc about their relationship, and she's beginning to wonder if she really believes that Black Girls Must Have It All (75,000-copy paperback and 20,000-copy hardcover first printing). In Central Places, a debut from journalist Cai, Audrey Zhou left Hickory Grove, IL, for a big-deal job in Manhattan but is returning home to introduce star-worthy fiancé Ben to her hectoring parents and ignored friends; she also reconnects with laidback Kyle, the only person who ever understood her. DeFino moves from The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers (And Their Muses) to Varina Palladino's Jersey Italian Love Story, which features a widow whose mother and daughter conspire to get her dating again (50,000-copy first printing). In the New York Times best-selling Harper's Back in a Spell, puissant witch Nineve Blackmoore has been abandoned at the altar by her fiancée and ends up on an awkward and ultimately antagonistic first date with nonbinary townie Morty Gutierrez (angry that her family wants to buy out his pub); then Morty unexpectedly starts acquiring magical powers. In Lipman's genre-blending Ms. Demeanor, big-deal lawyer Jane Morgan loses both career and social life after a busybody neighbor reports her for having hot sex on the rooftop of her New York apartment building, then faces more trouble when the neighbor winds up poisoned and leaves a note implicating Jane (100,000-copy first printing). From Pen/Faulkner finalist Salesses, The Sense of Wonder stars Won Lee, the first Asian American in the NBA, whose seven-game winning streak wins him the moniker "The Wonder"—all witnessed by sportswriter Robert Sung and studio producer Carrie Kang, with whom Won launches a relationship (50,000-copy first printing). In debuter Shroff's The Bandit Queens, a young Indian woman named Geeta is suspected of killing her long-vanished husband, which proves beneficial—no one wants to cross her—and then uncomfortable as other women push her for advice on getting rid of their husbands. After surviving his car's plunge off a cliff in Normandy, Charles Vincent, Steel's latest protagonist, is nursed back to health by a kind woman he stumbles across in a nearby cabin and realizes that he could vanish from his unhappy life Without a Trace. In Zigman's Small World, Joyce invites sister Lydia to move into her Cambridge apartment (if only temporarily) when Lydia returns east from California, but the two divorcees find their relationship disrupted by memories of their deceased sister (60,000-copy first printing).

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