Duncan is charming, good-natured, and handsome. Jane falls easily in love with him. But he's also slept with nearly every woman in Boyne City, Michigan and because of this, Jane sees Duncan's old girlfriends everywhere—at restaurants, at the grocery store, even in neighbouring towns.
Coming to terms with him being such a successful seducer is one thing, but having to share him is pushing it. He still mows his ex-wife's lawn and his coworker Jimmy comes and goes from Duncan's apartment at the most inopportune times. How is this relationship supposed to work with all these people in it? Not to mention most of the other residents of Boyne City, who freely share with Jane their opinions of her choices.
Any notion Jane has of love and marriage changes with one terrible car crash. Now her life is permanently intertwined with Duncan's, Aggie's, and Jimmy's, and she knows she will never have Duncan to herself. But is it possible that a deeper kind of happiness is right in front of her eyes?
This is my first Katherine Heiny book and I was utterly enchanted. It's easy to fall in love with her quirky cast—although she is only 26, Jane is a bit of an old soul so it's no wonder she has an affinity towards thrifting, Duncan oozed charm and I was smitten, but was Jimmy who won my heart. He was the perfect vehicle for the other characters' growth.
Early Morning Riser covers a span of 17 years in episodical chapters titled by year and I found that this was an overly ambitious timeframe to work with. But all-in-all, it was a lighthearted and fun read about love, loss, family, friendship, and community. I look forward to my next Heiny novel.
KATHERINE HEINY is the author of Standard Deviation and Single, Carefree, Mellow, and her short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and many other magazines.
Heiny lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband and children, and is a former resident of London, The Hague, and Boyne City, Michigan.
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