Lucky Dogs: A novel (Hardcover)
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Staff Reviews
"Two women meet in Paris. One protects the other from harassment on the street. They appear to form a bond. What happens after that is surprising, occasionally horrifying, somewhat confusing, and even a little funny.
Schulman does a great job of differentiating the voices of the two women. One verging on stream of consciousness and the other blunt and forceful. Ultimately, the book is about power, trauma, and the complicated relationship between two women with troubled pasts."
— From Julie's Staff PicksDescription
The paths of two women on opposite ends of a high-profile sexual abuse scandal set them on a devastating collision course.
"Part thriller, part Hollywood satire, Lucky Dogs is a brash, sometimes heartbreaking saga in which trauma and self-preservation converge across decades and continents. This is Helen Schulman's best novel yet."—Jennifer Egan, best-selling author of A Visit from the Goon Squad and The Candy House
On a sultry summer night in Paris, two women meet in line at an ice cream kiosk on the Ile de la Cité. One is tall, fair, striking, with an indeterminate accent. The other, a troubled American TV star, is hiding her beauty and identity under a shapeless sweatshirt, wearing sunglasses even in the darkness. When leering male tourists hassle the pair, the blonde pulls out a knife and a sisterhood is born. Both women have been victims of male violence, and both are warriors—one trained and calculating, one instinctually ferocious. They each think they know who they are dealing with. But both are very, very wrong.
In a story that unfolds with unexpected humor and the pace of a thriller, acclaimed novelist Helen Schulman lays bare what happens to women—no matter how fortunate they may appear to be on the surface—whose lives have been warped by brutality and misogyny. The issues are universal, but the core of the story is intimate: a passionate exploration of love, betrayal, and survival. Lucky Dogs asks and answers a shattering question: How could one woman so utterly betray another?
About the Author
HELEN SCHULMAN is the New York Times best-selling author of six novels, including Come with Me and This Beautiful Life. Schulman has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts, Sundance, Aspen Words, and Columbia University. She lives in New York City.
Praise For…
"Daringly creative . . . Deeply knowing, properly indignant and—maybe the best revenge—very funny . . . The novel has the sizzle of two jumper cables coming together."—Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times
"Part thriller, part Hollywood satire, Lucky Dogs is a brash, sometimes heartbreaking saga in which trauma and self-preservation converge across decades and continents. This is Helen Schulman’s best novel yet.”—Jennifer Egan, author of The Candy House
“Lucky Dogs is dazzling – a propulsive novel brimming with insight into power, betrayal, and obsession. It’s a showcase for Schulman’s extraordinary gifts as a writer: her sharp observation, buoyant wit, and unfailing empathy.”—Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies
"Crackling with wit and daring insight, Lucky Dogs is a sharp-toothed exploration of trauma—the way it rewrites the soul, and its catastrophic fallout. Schulman understands the choreography of betrayal and risk like no other, skillfully mapping the hidden corners of her characters' hearts.”—Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun
"Written with Schulman's characteristic brilliance, subtlety and social insight, Lucky Dogs is an exploration of the complicated and twisting relationship between women on opposite ends of a high-profile scandal. Unapologetic, searing, lit with humor and wit, it is a novel to be savored."—Jean Kwok, author of Girl in Translation
“Out of the inferno that was the Harvey Weinstein imbroglio—and the high-wire imagination of Helen Schulman—comes a witty and insightful tale of two women . . . [that] will take your breath away.”—Oprah Daily
“A work of fiction that should be read and discussed widely. Part mystery, part thriller, and at its heart an examination of why and how women can treat each other so callously and despicably, it’s tough to set down. Ironically, it would make a tremendous movie.” —Library Journal, starred review
“This is a brilliant book: powerful, witty, sharp, and urgent.”—Meg Wolitzer, author of The Interestings
"In a word: wow . . . Schulman has engineered a series of breathtaking aha moments, set to go off like timed explosives . . . Her finest work to date."—Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“An incisive and thrilling account of women who are hounded by powerful men . . . Meredith and Nina’s intriguing relationship will keep readers on the hook as it evolves and leads to a surprising outcome. This packs plenty of punch.”—Publishers Weekly
“Devastating . . . clever and creative.”—New York Post
“Underscores Schulman’s gifts as a writer, one of those daughters of Didion . . . capable of fitting a world into a short sentence, and a person into a few sharply chosen words.”—Air Mail
“Propulsive.”—Nylon