CHARCUTERIE GIRL

After her marriage falls apart, a mother of two must figure out how to get her life back on track in Wright’s novel.

Before she met bank CEO Jack Davis in 2013, Emma Davis was an up-and-coming software developer who built and sold her own successful company. During their 10-year marriage, he used nearly all the money she’d earned on failed investment opportunities. After Emma learns that Jack is having an affair with a restaurant server he met during one of their family dinners, he leaves her. Now that he’s gone, she has no income, no emotional support, and no idea what to do next. She takes a low-level tech job and loses whatever standing she had in the community. “What I desperately wanted was to stop loathing myself so much,” she narrates. “Rotten mother. Horrible at relationships. Pathetic career. Fat. Alone. And just plain scared.” Then creative writing professor Evy Hanover moves into Emma’s small suburban hamlet of Belmont, New York, and the pair strike up an instant and intense friendship. Evy seems to be just what Emma needs in her life; she convinces Emma to hire a divorce attorney, to stand up to Jack, to use some dating apps, and to live healthier. However, the future isn’t quite as bright as Evy makes it seem, and once Emma learns about the secret that Evy’s keeping, she questions whether their friendship will be enough to see them through. Emma’s first-person perspective effectively gives Wright’s novel a lighthearted and conversational tone, and it’s filled with humorous dating mishaps, clever gripes about dieting, and several slapstick moments. It initially presents as a fun, quick read; however, it later delves into some darker territory, including topics such as eating disorders, mental illness, and profoundly abusive relationships—each of which are described with greater nonchalance than readers may feel they deserve. The story is also weighed down by excessive detail that does little to move the plot forward, and some characters are rendered in such exaggerated fashion that they lack nuance.

A novel that offers a spirited but unevenly executed take on bouncing back.