What do you think?
Dear Monica Lewinsky
Forty-five-year old Jean Dornan cannot escape the shadow of something that happened several decades ago. During a study abroad program in France she had a deeply inappropriate relationship with her professor. When the professor contacts her out of the blue to invite her to his retirement ceremony, she is jolted out of her malaise and filled with the need to understand why the affair derailed her life.
Rereading her old diaries, she is shocked to realize her relationship with the professor occurred during the summer of the Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky scandal, yet she never saw the parallels. In a frenzy of guilt and regret, she finds herself praying to Monica Lewinsky—as if she were some kind of secular saint, the patron of persecuted and demonized women, perhaps?—and begging Monica’s forgiveness for not understanding everything they had in common. To her shock, Saint Monica appears to her and leads her back in time to reassess what happened. Had Jean merely been weak, stupid, and blind, as she has told herself for years? What was it about her that led to the affair? What did she really do that summer?
Told in flashbacks of those six weeks that changed Jean's life, interspersed with irreverent accounts of real female martyrs and visitations from Saint Monica, Dear Monica Lewinsky is a tender, hilarious, and thought-provoking examination of desire and how it shapes us. It is also a timely examination of what grace and forgiveness look like, in our lives and throughout history.
Rereading her old diaries, she is shocked to realize her relationship with the professor occurred during the summer of the Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky scandal, yet she never saw the parallels. In a frenzy of guilt and regret, she finds herself praying to Monica Lewinsky—as if she were some kind of secular saint, the patron of persecuted and demonized women, perhaps?—and begging Monica’s forgiveness for not understanding everything they had in common. To her shock, Saint Monica appears to her and leads her back in time to reassess what happened. Had Jean merely been weak, stupid, and blind, as she has told herself for years? What was it about her that led to the affair? What did she really do that summer?
Told in flashbacks of those six weeks that changed Jean's life, interspersed with irreverent accounts of real female martyrs and visitations from Saint Monica, Dear Monica Lewinsky is a tender, hilarious, and thought-provoking examination of desire and how it shapes us. It is also a timely examination of what grace and forgiveness look like, in our lives and throughout history.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 14, 2026
About the author
Julia Langbein
5 books191 followersJULIA LANGBEIN, a sketch and standup comedian for many years, holds a doctorate in Art History and is the author of a non-fiction book about comic art criticism (Laugh Lines, Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2022).
She wrote the viral comedy blog The Bruni Digest (2003-7), which reviewed New York Times critic Frank Bruni’s restaurant reviews every week and has since written about food, art and travel for Gourmet, Eater, Salon, Frieze and other publications.
A native of Chicago, she lives outside of Paris with her family.
She wrote the viral comedy blog The Bruni Digest (2003-7), which reviewed New York Times critic Frank Bruni’s restaurant reviews every week and has since written about food, art and travel for Gourmet, Eater, Salon, Frieze and other publications.
A native of Chicago, she lives outside of Paris with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,347 reviews
September 24, 2025
* thanks to Doubleday for the NetGalley review copy (pub date: April 14, 2026)
This is one of those books that's going to be really hard for me to talk about without sounding like an absolute lunatic, and all I want to do is talk about how fantastic it is and how much I LOVED it. The entire concept of a woman (approximately) my age realizing how her own situation as a college student paralleled Monica Lewinsky's experiences -- and recognizing just how unbelievably terrible we all were in the way we thought about Monica -- and then praying to Saint Monica -- and then Saint Monica APPEARING and snarkily talking her through it all -- is nothing short of BRILLIANT.
The interstitial bits summarizing and retelling the stories of female martyrs, all led to their path of suffering due to gross men, were all so tragic and painfully hilarious, especially the opening section telling Monica's story. I absolutely adored everything about this book and want everyone to read it. Definitely picking it for book club!
5000 stars
This is one of those books that's going to be really hard for me to talk about without sounding like an absolute lunatic, and all I want to do is talk about how fantastic it is and how much I LOVED it. The entire concept of a woman (approximately) my age realizing how her own situation as a college student paralleled Monica Lewinsky's experiences -- and recognizing just how unbelievably terrible we all were in the way we thought about Monica -- and then praying to Saint Monica -- and then Saint Monica APPEARING and snarkily talking her through it all -- is nothing short of BRILLIANT.
The interstitial bits summarizing and retelling the stories of female martyrs, all led to their path of suffering due to gross men, were all so tragic and painfully hilarious, especially the opening section telling Monica's story. I absolutely adored everything about this book and want everyone to read it. Definitely picking it for book club!
5000 stars
April 23, 2026
1000% cannot write a review of this. It would be a 30-page term paper and it would be incoherent with joy.
Buzzword Reading Challenge 2026: action & movement
30 Books in 30 Days—2026
Book 17/30
Buzzword Reading Challenge 2026: action & movement
30 Books in 30 Days—2026
Book 17/30
May 18, 2026
I can’t think of a single person I wouldn’t recommend this to.
May 5, 2026
Interesting premise, but the execution was less solid. We get this frame narrative of the protagonist Jean summoning Saint Monica and recounting the details of her sexual encounter, but this telling is sludgy with detail and other threads. Because we know something happened between Jean and her professor, we are just sitting around waiting for it to unfold for a long time--which maybe wouldn't have been as big an issue if this novel had just been set firmly in 1998 without hammering home so much that important developments were yet to come.
We also suspect from early on that Jean will eventually confront her professor at his retirement gathering, which I assumed would be a much more substantial part of the novel, but it is crammed into a short 15-20 pages at the end and takes the form of a condensed hagiography (like the ones peppered throughout the book), which is a cool idea but ultimately robs us of the catharsis of the dramatic confrontation we've been holding off on for 300 pages.
I also have strange feelings about the use of Monica Lewinsky in this book--the author explicitly says in her acknowledgements that she has never spoken to Monica Lewinsky, so there is something strange about dragging a living person unsolicited into a work of fiction to serve...not much of a function? This book could have happened without the gimmick of Lewinsky, because after her initial appearance at the start of the story, her presence is reduced to a few interjections scattered across the retelling of Jean's past: sometimes questions that are just there to move the plot forward or refocus Jean's memory, and occasionally to espouse some profound observation about society. For a book that mentions how Lewinsky's personhood was erased in the wake of the Clinton investigation, it's strange that the story does the same thing to her here (although rather than demonizing her, it deifies her).
We also suspect from early on that Jean will eventually confront her professor at his retirement gathering, which I assumed would be a much more substantial part of the novel, but it is crammed into a short 15-20 pages at the end and takes the form of a condensed hagiography (like the ones peppered throughout the book), which is a cool idea but ultimately robs us of the catharsis of the dramatic confrontation we've been holding off on for 300 pages.
I also have strange feelings about the use of Monica Lewinsky in this book--the author explicitly says in her acknowledgements that she has never spoken to Monica Lewinsky, so there is something strange about dragging a living person unsolicited into a work of fiction to serve...not much of a function? This book could have happened without the gimmick of Lewinsky, because after her initial appearance at the start of the story, her presence is reduced to a few interjections scattered across the retelling of Jean's past: sometimes questions that are just there to move the plot forward or refocus Jean's memory, and occasionally to espouse some profound observation about society. For a book that mentions how Lewinsky's personhood was erased in the wake of the Clinton investigation, it's strange that the story does the same thing to her here (although rather than demonizing her, it deifies her).
April 14, 2026
I hate to say it, but I found this book really disappointing, which is a shame. I was really looking forward to it because I thought it would have interesting commentary about women being shamed and turned into pariahs and martyrs for their sexuality throughout history, but I just found the book to be boring. I think the idea was great and had a lot of potential, but I found the execution wasn't there, which is a shame because it is such a good idea, and the characters were interesting. I think the book being shorter would have helped keep the story moving and have the characters move faster.
Again, I think the concept and idea were so interesting, but the execution wasn’t as well as I think I could have been.
Again, I think the concept and idea were so interesting, but the execution wasn’t as well as I think I could have been.
September 23, 2025
This book was FANTASTIC. Julia Langbein is a brilliant writer. This book was so sharp, witty, smart, quirky, and unputdownable. Somehow, Julia Langbein can make trauma, nuns, and 11th century architecture both sassy and wildly funny.
It's clear by her writing that art history is a subject that is completely within the author's wheelhouse because that confidence shows on the page and makes for an extremely engaging read. I also read her other novel, American Mermaid, and loved it but this book is so wildly different and so much better (in my opinion).
This book alternates between present day Jean in New Jersey (unfulfilled and unsatisfied with work and love) and 1998 Jean (smart, hopeful, naive virgin from Rutgers) studying abroad in France for 6 weeks. For most of the book, Jean is reflecting on her time in France, enjoying life, making friends, and cooking in the time leading up to the event that she believes irreparably altered her future and the person she is today. During this trip, Jean has an experience eerily similar to that of Monica Lewinsky. Now seeing the parallels in the present, she regrets how she reacted to the news in 1998 and prays to Monica,"exalted as the patron saint of those who suffer venal public shaming and patriarchal cruelty."
Throughout Jean's reflection on her past, she talks and prays to Monica and in return, Monica delivers some truly hilarious one-liners.
The book is also punctuated with chapters of female martyrs throughout history. Many of whom had a church built on them after.
The common thread of women existing to please men and take responsibility for the actions of men against women runs throughout the book and affects every character. All the female characters in the study abroad program in France exist in relation to men in some way. Whether it be an eating disorder, leaving early for a boyfriend, settling for a man who can provide security instead of love, some just acting subservient to get what they want in the end, and some who are taken advantage of by the men in power. Reading this book through a lens with a subtle feminist edge also just shows how brilliant of a writer Julia Langbein is.
I strongly recommend everyone read this book - I can't wait to buy it when it comes out. Will be recommending to all my friends.
Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the eARC!
It's clear by her writing that art history is a subject that is completely within the author's wheelhouse because that confidence shows on the page and makes for an extremely engaging read. I also read her other novel, American Mermaid, and loved it but this book is so wildly different and so much better (in my opinion).
This book alternates between present day Jean in New Jersey (unfulfilled and unsatisfied with work and love) and 1998 Jean (smart, hopeful, naive virgin from Rutgers) studying abroad in France for 6 weeks. For most of the book, Jean is reflecting on her time in France, enjoying life, making friends, and cooking in the time leading up to the event that she believes irreparably altered her future and the person she is today. During this trip, Jean has an experience eerily similar to that of Monica Lewinsky. Now seeing the parallels in the present, she regrets how she reacted to the news in 1998 and prays to Monica,"exalted as the patron saint of those who suffer venal public shaming and patriarchal cruelty."
Throughout Jean's reflection on her past, she talks and prays to Monica and in return, Monica delivers some truly hilarious one-liners.
The book is also punctuated with chapters of female martyrs throughout history. Many of whom had a church built on them after.
The common thread of women existing to please men and take responsibility for the actions of men against women runs throughout the book and affects every character. All the female characters in the study abroad program in France exist in relation to men in some way. Whether it be an eating disorder, leaving early for a boyfriend, settling for a man who can provide security instead of love, some just acting subservient to get what they want in the end, and some who are taken advantage of by the men in power. Reading this book through a lens with a subtle feminist edge also just shows how brilliant of a writer Julia Langbein is.
I strongly recommend everyone read this book - I can't wait to buy it when it comes out. Will be recommending to all my friends.
Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the eARC!
September 7, 2025
My favorite non-horror book of the year by far.
December 18, 2025
Saint Monica’s words of “You can be the most virtuous woman in the world, and you’ll still carry the blame not just for your desire but everyone’s desire” have stuck with me specifically. This book really shows how powerful men take full advantage of women’s accomplishments and reputations, from the presidents to professors, and how it directly affects women afterward. As a woman, Jean’s journey with Monica felt so healing and validating to read from start to finish.
The imagery was also beautifully written and I felt like I was there visiting all the ancient French churches, joking around with Jean and her classmates at the castle lodging, eating the deliciously described Sunday meals, and receiving Saint Monica’s blessed kiss.
Thank you to NetGalley and DoubleDay Books Publishing for the early access!
The imagery was also beautifully written and I felt like I was there visiting all the ancient French churches, joking around with Jean and her classmates at the castle lodging, eating the deliciously described Sunday meals, and receiving Saint Monica’s blessed kiss.
Thank you to NetGalley and DoubleDay Books Publishing for the early access!
June 14, 2026
does monica know about this
had potential and at times that potential seeped through some paragraphs but overall… meh. the short historical bits were honestly the best part. the main story suffered from endless repetition of thoughts and feelings and it could never really decide whether this whole affair was good or bad, i get the conflict between agency and abuse but it was just so wishy washy and none of the two options (or a secret third thing) ever fully explored
had potential and at times that potential seeped through some paragraphs but overall… meh. the short historical bits were honestly the best part. the main story suffered from endless repetition of thoughts and feelings and it could never really decide whether this whole affair was good or bad, i get the conflict between agency and abuse but it was just so wishy washy and none of the two options (or a secret third thing) ever fully explored
January 14, 2026
I love the concept of this book and couldn’t resist picking it up. Woman, haunted by the memory of an inappropriate relationship with a former teacher, revisits her memories (with the help of Saint Monica Lewinsky, no less) to attempt to free herself from the chains of these memories that suffocate her life. It is a fun and funny read that cleverly highlights very real ways the patriarchy has kept women down, but it’s about 75 pages too long and I nearly quit at the halfway point. The book starts and ends on such strong notes, but the middle drags. Perhaps it’ll be edited before final publication. I think many will find this to be a quirky and enjoyable read, and I could see it making for a great TV or movie adaptation.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
May 11, 2026
How humiliating and electric it is to be nineteen — to mistake attention for affection, to minimize your own heartbreak, to keep replaying a sentence or a look until it calcifies into mythology. This book is wickedly funny and impossibly sharp, but beneath all the snark and brilliance is something deeply, earnestly compassionate.
Forty-five-year-old Jean receives an invitation to her former professor’s retirement party and immediately comes undone (or was that already happening?), forced to revisit the six weeks she spent studying medieval churches in France at nineteen — a summer marked by sexual awakening, obsession, and the terrible choices that have quietly haunted the architecture of her entire adult life. In desperation, she prays to Monica Lewinsky, who appears not as a punchline or cultural artifact, but as a kind of patron saint for women who survived public shame, unequal power, and the lifelong task of trying to reinterpret what happened to them.
This novel clearly understands (with painful precision) what it feels like to be nineteen and unbearably open to the world — to be hungry, romantic to the point of self-destruction, convinced every older person who sees something in you is witnessing your brilliance rather than your vulnerability. Jean spends the novel intellectualizing herself in real time, narrating her own collapse, and it is rendered so specifically and mercifully that it doesn’t feel like reading fiction, but more like tuning into your own memory.
And somehow, despite all its brilliance about shame, desire, misogyny, power imbalances, religion, and the strange afterlife of girlhood, the novel never loses its warmth or humor. The ensemble cast is incredible— messy, pretentious, deeply lovable— and the France of it all feels sweaty, wine-drunk, overeducated, romantic, embarrassing, and so very alive. I genuinely mourned finishing it. I wanted another hundred pages just to remain in the company of these people and this voice.
Forty-five-year-old Jean receives an invitation to her former professor’s retirement party and immediately comes undone (or was that already happening?), forced to revisit the six weeks she spent studying medieval churches in France at nineteen — a summer marked by sexual awakening, obsession, and the terrible choices that have quietly haunted the architecture of her entire adult life. In desperation, she prays to Monica Lewinsky, who appears not as a punchline or cultural artifact, but as a kind of patron saint for women who survived public shame, unequal power, and the lifelong task of trying to reinterpret what happened to them.
This novel clearly understands (with painful precision) what it feels like to be nineteen and unbearably open to the world — to be hungry, romantic to the point of self-destruction, convinced every older person who sees something in you is witnessing your brilliance rather than your vulnerability. Jean spends the novel intellectualizing herself in real time, narrating her own collapse, and it is rendered so specifically and mercifully that it doesn’t feel like reading fiction, but more like tuning into your own memory.
And somehow, despite all its brilliance about shame, desire, misogyny, power imbalances, religion, and the strange afterlife of girlhood, the novel never loses its warmth or humor. The ensemble cast is incredible— messy, pretentious, deeply lovable— and the France of it all feels sweaty, wine-drunk, overeducated, romantic, embarrassing, and so very alive. I genuinely mourned finishing it. I wanted another hundred pages just to remain in the company of these people and this voice.
September 17, 2026
I've never wanted a fictional character to discover the concept of going for a fucking walk more desperately in my life.
Jean. Please. Go outside. Take a breath. Touch some grass. Look at a tree. Have a Snickers. You're not you when you’re hungry 😭
I was so excited for this because the premise is so good. A previously vilified woman transformed into a modern day saint? How women are judged, humiliated, sexualised, and consumed? Revenge???
But then the actual book happened…
359 pages of the MC Jean just thinking about things?
Jean thinks about her job. About her career. About her love life. About David. About Monica Lewinsky. About whether she's a bad person. About whether she's going crazy. About whether she made the right life choices. Jean thinks about thinking about all these things.
If you can't tell yet, I hated Jean. Not in the interesting ‘wow what a delightfully awful train wreck’ way. I found her to be so relentlessly boring, self-obsessed, helpless, judgmental, and self-pitying that eventually even my hatred got tired.
And it's not just that she's miserable. Miserable, pathetic characters can be fantastic. Miserable, sad, wallowing in self pity characters can be fascinating when they have layers. The problem is that all the book does is tell us how miserable Jean is without giving her anything particularly interesting to do.
We get multiple chapters of Jean talking and feeling sorry for herself, so the book's basically:
Saint Monica, if you're listening, I need you to descend from the heavens and slap the copy of The Bell Jar out of this bitch’s hands.
There's a very specific rhythm that I just didn't click with. It's breathless and self-conscious, with this slightly performative feel to it that made me hyper aware of the individual sentences instead of getting immersed in the story. You can practically hear the next sentence clearing its throat before announcing that it has something Very Important to say.
But the concept is SO good. There are so many interesting things buried in the pages about women, shame, cultural memory, and the way people can be turned into martyrs or pariahs.
I see what it's trying to do. I respect it. But I also spent a lot of the book wishing it would just hurry up and do it.
I'm not a fan of using real people in fiction.
And I know. I KNOW. The book’s called Dear Monica Lewinsky, so what did I expect?
But she feels like a gimmick to me, like she's forced into the narrative to boost sales rather than to tell an interesting story. And the more the book goes on about Monica being exploited and turned into a spectacle, the more I kept thinking, isn't that exactly what we're doing here?
The book's fascinated with the idea of taking a real woman and turning her into a symbol. But then it takes a real woman and turns her into a symbol.
It puts her name on the cover. It makes her a conceptual device. It uses her cultural significance to frame someone else's story.
Maybe that tension and hypocrisy is the point. Maybe Monica Lewinsky was cool with this. I don't know.
What I do know is that I wanted to go a lot deeper into the deification of Monica. Because the idea of taking a living woman and turning her into a a saint, a cultural object whom everyone can project their own meaning, is such a strange, slightly uncomfortable concept. And exactly the kind of strange, slightly uncomfortable concept that has me sat.
The central relationship could have been an excellent opportunity to explore power imbalances and the very real pressures many women face. And there is obviously a power imbalance here; I'm not denying that.
But the book wants David and Jean's relationship to carry enormous psychological weight, while what we're actually shown is Jean following him around like a lovesick puppy, Jean making the first move, Jean obsessing over him for nearly 30 years, and Jean continuing to make questionable decisions long after the original fling ended.
The book also wants David to function as the great source of everything wrong in Jean's life, which I just didn't buy. Even before him, we're told Jean was already floundering.
He gave her a C on one of her papers. 20+ years later she's still bringing it up. It's pretty obvious that it was a power move on his part and he was being a dick, but girl move on or start charging him rent.
All of this has been crawling towards the great confrontation.
Page 350.
The pivotal meeting with David happens on page 350.
Of a 359 page book.
NINE PAGES.
Three hundred and fifty pages of Jean's thoughts, anxieties, regrets, romantic obsession, career angst, guilt, and existential navel-gazing, and the thing we're supposedly building to gets approximately 9 pages.
The entire book's basically an elaborate, wordy loading screen.
But the endless circling is an excellent depiction of being stuck in your own head. That experience of going over the same thing again and again until you convince yourself that you're making progress because you're thinking about it, when actually you're just going around in circles. It is well done. But I spend enough time with my own thoughts, I don't need to be trapped with Jean's.
I could have saved myself a lot of time and rage by just reading the final chapter. It's basically a summary of the whole book anyway.
2 stars because there are some genuinely worthwhile ideas here.
Jean. Please. Go outside. Take a breath. Touch some grass. Look at a tree. Have a Snickers. You're not you when you’re hungry 😭
I was so excited for this because the premise is so good. A previously vilified woman transformed into a modern day saint? How women are judged, humiliated, sexualised, and consumed? Revenge???
But then the actual book happened…
359 pages of the MC Jean just thinking about things?
Jean thinks about her job. About her career. About her love life. About David. About Monica Lewinsky. About whether she's a bad person. About whether she's going crazy. About whether she made the right life choices. Jean thinks about thinking about all these things.
If you can't tell yet, I hated Jean. Not in the interesting ‘wow what a delightfully awful train wreck’ way. I found her to be so relentlessly boring, self-obsessed, helpless, judgmental, and self-pitying that eventually even my hatred got tired.
And it's not just that she's miserable. Miserable, pathetic characters can be fantastic. Miserable, sad, wallowing in self pity characters can be fascinating when they have layers. The problem is that all the book does is tell us how miserable Jean is without giving her anything particularly interesting to do.
We get multiple chapters of Jean talking and feeling sorry for herself, so the book's basically:
omg did I pick the right job? Oh no. But did I pick the right job? I picked the wrong job! I ruined my life. MY LIFE IS OVER.Jean. SHUT UP.
No man will ever compare to my college professor. Obviously no man will compare to him because I spent the last 20 years romanticising him to the point where he's no longer a mere human but an emotionally unavailable academic demigod. I'm doomed. Ruined.
Also I'm so evil for not caring about Monica Lewinsky 20 years ago. WHAT KIND OF PERSON DOESN'T CARE ABOUT MONICA??
Am I going crazy? I'm going crazy. Oh no. What if I'm going crazy? I want to die. Or should I kill someone? Yeah, I should.
I want to quit my job. But then I'd have no job. And if I don't have a job, who am I? Oh god WHO AM I?
I'm a bitch who got a C on a paper 23 years ago. A C ON MY PAPER. It should have been a B. My smart friend told me so. Why did I get a C? Am I stupid? Does everyone think I'm a failure? Who would I be today if not for that damn C? I'm the worst.
Help me Monica Lewinsky, you're my only hope.
Saint Monica, if you're listening, I need you to descend from the heavens and slap the copy of The Bell Jar out of this bitch’s hands.
There's a very specific rhythm that I just didn't click with. It's breathless and self-conscious, with this slightly performative feel to it that made me hyper aware of the individual sentences instead of getting immersed in the story. You can practically hear the next sentence clearing its throat before announcing that it has something Very Important to say.
But the concept is SO good. There are so many interesting things buried in the pages about women, shame, cultural memory, and the way people can be turned into martyrs or pariahs.
I see what it's trying to do. I respect it. But I also spent a lot of the book wishing it would just hurry up and do it.
I'm not a fan of using real people in fiction.
And I know. I KNOW. The book’s called Dear Monica Lewinsky, so what did I expect?
But she feels like a gimmick to me, like she's forced into the narrative to boost sales rather than to tell an interesting story. And the more the book goes on about Monica being exploited and turned into a spectacle, the more I kept thinking, isn't that exactly what we're doing here?
The book's fascinated with the idea of taking a real woman and turning her into a symbol. But then it takes a real woman and turns her into a symbol.
It puts her name on the cover. It makes her a conceptual device. It uses her cultural significance to frame someone else's story.
Maybe that tension and hypocrisy is the point. Maybe Monica Lewinsky was cool with this. I don't know.
What I do know is that I wanted to go a lot deeper into the deification of Monica. Because the idea of taking a living woman and turning her into a a saint, a cultural object whom everyone can project their own meaning, is such a strange, slightly uncomfortable concept. And exactly the kind of strange, slightly uncomfortable concept that has me sat.
The central relationship could have been an excellent opportunity to explore power imbalances and the very real pressures many women face. And there is obviously a power imbalance here; I'm not denying that.
But the book wants David and Jean's relationship to carry enormous psychological weight, while what we're actually shown is Jean following him around like a lovesick puppy, Jean making the first move, Jean obsessing over him for nearly 30 years, and Jean continuing to make questionable decisions long after the original fling ended.
The book also wants David to function as the great source of everything wrong in Jean's life, which I just didn't buy. Even before him, we're told Jean was already floundering.
He gave her a C on one of her papers. 20+ years later she's still bringing it up. It's pretty obvious that it was a power move on his part and he was being a dick, but girl move on or start charging him rent.
All of this has been crawling towards the great confrontation.
Page 350.
The pivotal meeting with David happens on page 350.
Of a 359 page book.
NINE PAGES.
Three hundred and fifty pages of Jean's thoughts, anxieties, regrets, romantic obsession, career angst, guilt, and existential navel-gazing, and the thing we're supposedly building to gets approximately 9 pages.
The entire book's basically an elaborate, wordy loading screen.
But the endless circling is an excellent depiction of being stuck in your own head. That experience of going over the same thing again and again until you convince yourself that you're making progress because you're thinking about it, when actually you're just going around in circles. It is well done. But I spend enough time with my own thoughts, I don't need to be trapped with Jean's.
I could have saved myself a lot of time and rage by just reading the final chapter. It's basically a summary of the whole book anyway.
2 stars because there are some genuinely worthwhile ideas here.
Did Not Finish
May 15, 2026DNF at 28%. I really tried to give this book a chance, but the plot is somehow both ridiculous and boring. I wonder how Monica Lewinsky feels about being used for this unnecessarily.
May 18, 2026
Thank you, Monica Lewinsky.
April 4, 2026
This novel shows the huge difference in pre- and post-#MeToo understandings of sexual dynamics, but it also deftly portrays the gulf between late adolescence and middle age. Readers, too, might find that they have come to revere Saint Monica Lewinsky. Full review on BookBrowse: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...
August 5, 2026
not at all what i thought this book was going to be (i judged a book by its cover)
June 13, 2026
I found this book in the Goodreads’ news section – something like “Summer getaway” – but I was pleasantly surprised by it.
I have never read a book like this, and, even though at times it was structurally complex (I had to reread multiple paragraphs because I kept losing the thread), I liked it. It was literally wild, both in the way it was written – I’d say it was, to say the least, a very creative way to tell a story – and the plot. It wasn’t nice to be in Jean’s mind, but it was real, raw, and that’s a quality I tend to appreciate – I like a little neurosis in my female characters.
I also didn’t know about Monica Lewinsky story, so I’m happy I learnt about that too.
It is, in fact, a good “summer escape” book, to read on the beach and not think much.
I have never read a book like this, and, even though at times it was structurally complex (I had to reread multiple paragraphs because I kept losing the thread), I liked it. It was literally wild, both in the way it was written – I’d say it was, to say the least, a very creative way to tell a story – and the plot. It wasn’t nice to be in Jean’s mind, but it was real, raw, and that’s a quality I tend to appreciate – I like a little neurosis in my female characters.
I also didn’t know about Monica Lewinsky story, so I’m happy I learnt about that too.
It is, in fact, a good “summer escape” book, to read on the beach and not think much.
April 15, 2026
4.5 stars
As soon as I saw this title, I knew I wanted to read it. Then, I read the book's description and was even more intrigued. And this book did not disappoint.
It starts with 40 year old Jean being reminded of the summer she was in college that she slept with her professor and realizing it was the same summer of the Lewinsky-Clinton scandal. Then she prays to Monica, which is such an outlandish concept, but it works. This is a very public example of the woman being vilified for a sexual relationship where the man was clearly in the wrong.
Interspersed with Jean's story were stories of female saints, heartbreaking stories of women being treated cruelly by men going back hundreds of years.
While the subject matter can be heavy, the book is witty and funny. Jean is an interesting and complex character. Overall, I really enjoyed her POV.
As soon as I saw this title, I knew I wanted to read it. Then, I read the book's description and was even more intrigued. And this book did not disappoint.
It starts with 40 year old Jean being reminded of the summer she was in college that she slept with her professor and realizing it was the same summer of the Lewinsky-Clinton scandal. Then she prays to Monica, which is such an outlandish concept, but it works. This is a very public example of the woman being vilified for a sexual relationship where the man was clearly in the wrong.
Interspersed with Jean's story were stories of female saints, heartbreaking stories of women being treated cruelly by men going back hundreds of years.
While the subject matter can be heavy, the book is witty and funny. Jean is an interesting and complex character. Overall, I really enjoyed her POV.
April 24, 2026
I know that Dear Monica Lewinsky won’t be for every reader, but it sure feels like it was made in a lab for me. It’s all my favorite things: smart, weird, creative, fresh, funny, feminist, and thoughtful — and served with a heaping helping of art history and Christian saints. Be still my heart.
Jean is a 45 year old woman struggling with the trauma left after an inappropriate relationship with her professor 25 years earlier, when she gets an invitation to his retirement party. Distraught, Jean prays to Monica Lewinsky, as the patron saint of women denigrated and shamed by patriarchal power.
Most of the narrative takes place in the past, as Jean recounts her story to Saint Monica. Vignettes of women martyrs are woven in, and through these interjections, Jean’s story, and the everyday relationships and experiences of the young women surrounding Jean, Langbein investigates desire, power, shame, and womanhood under the patriarchy. She is never heavy-handed; she writes complex characters and asks nuanced questions.
I believe some readers may be turned off by the art, architectural, and historical content, but I loved it. Besides being fascinating to me, it expanded the scope of novel, demonstrating the universality of these issues that we still wrestle with today. All the stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.
Jean is a 45 year old woman struggling with the trauma left after an inappropriate relationship with her professor 25 years earlier, when she gets an invitation to his retirement party. Distraught, Jean prays to Monica Lewinsky, as the patron saint of women denigrated and shamed by patriarchal power.
Most of the narrative takes place in the past, as Jean recounts her story to Saint Monica. Vignettes of women martyrs are woven in, and through these interjections, Jean’s story, and the everyday relationships and experiences of the young women surrounding Jean, Langbein investigates desire, power, shame, and womanhood under the patriarchy. She is never heavy-handed; she writes complex characters and asks nuanced questions.
I believe some readers may be turned off by the art, architectural, and historical content, but I loved it. Besides being fascinating to me, it expanded the scope of novel, demonstrating the universality of these issues that we still wrestle with today. All the stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.
July 9, 2026
DNF at 65% do you know how boring a book has to be to make me dnf the audiobook? Such a shame the premise was interesting and it had a great start but it kept dragging and it was so boring!!! I regret wasting an audiobook credit on this
April 18, 2026
I absolutely loved this book. First of all, I really enjoyed the way the chapters are structured, moving back and forth in time. The metaphor of Monica Lewinsky being portrayed as a kind of “saint” is especially powerful and striking.The subject matter itself is something that is not talked about enough, and presenting such sensitive and often overlooked issues in a satirical tone is, in my opinion, a real achievement. The academic world is also depicted in a very honest and realistic way, particularly from a woman’s perspective.Connecting these experiences to the figure of Monica Lewinsky is a smart and thought-provoking choice. It highlights the emotional and psychological intensity of situations that, unfortunately, can happen to someone during their university years. It almost feels like a nightmare scenario unfolding in an academic setting.
September 14, 2025
All hail Saint Monica! I wholeheartedly agree that, similar to the woman portrayed in the snippets we get throughout the book who were persecuted for refuting the advances of men throughout history, Monica was another woman in a long line of women that deserved better. I had hoped this story to be more of a love letter to young Monica. But other than a few bits of news coverage from 1998, the scandal felt more like an afterthought. I found the story to move quite slow with an unfulfilled ending. The best parts were the interactions between Jean and Saint Monica. I appreciate the portrayal of Monica as an omniscient God, and if this book helps more people see her that way, than by all means, read away!
June 17, 2026
Trigger Warnings:
* Abuse of power
* Sexual content
* Emotional manipulation
* Guilt and shame
* Religious themes
Dear Monica Lewinsky by Julia Langbein follows Jean Dornan, a 45-year-old woman whose life has been shaped by a relationship she had with a professor while studying in France during the summer of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. When the professor unexpectedly contacts her years later, Jean begins revisiting old diaries and memories in an effort to understand what really happened and why it has continued to affect her life. As she reflects on those six weeks, she finds herself in conversation with an imagined Saint Monica Lewinsky, who helps guide her through questions of desire, responsibility, regret, and forgiveness. Set between contemporary America and Jean’s memories of France in the late 1990s, the novel blends flashbacks, historical references, and humor as Jean reassesses a defining chapter of her past.
* Abuse of power
* Sexual content
* Emotional manipulation
* Guilt and shame
* Religious themes
Dear Monica Lewinsky by Julia Langbein follows Jean Dornan, a 45-year-old woman whose life has been shaped by a relationship she had with a professor while studying in France during the summer of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. When the professor unexpectedly contacts her years later, Jean begins revisiting old diaries and memories in an effort to understand what really happened and why it has continued to affect her life. As she reflects on those six weeks, she finds herself in conversation with an imagined Saint Monica Lewinsky, who helps guide her through questions of desire, responsibility, regret, and forgiveness. Set between contemporary America and Jean’s memories of France in the late 1990s, the novel blends flashbacks, historical references, and humor as Jean reassesses a defining chapter of her past.
May 20, 2026
5 stars but if i could have it my way it would be 4.8 or 4.7 because i wanted to know how she worked things out with her husband (not that he was essential to the story, i just don’t like loose ends). even if you don’t finish the book, i highly recommend getting through the first few chapters. especially the beginning “A Life of Saint Monica”. the author is a comedian and art historian. i listened on audiobook and was genuinely hootin and hollerin during some of it.
April 17, 2026
Gosh, this was weird and brilliantly written and surprisingly profound
April 19, 2026
I did not know I needed this book. But everything about it is brilliant and thoughtful and nuanced. It surprised me in every possible way and I cannot wait to read more from Langbein
May 15, 2026
I picked up Dear Monica Lewinsky because the premise immediately stood out to me. A woman, still burdened by the memory of an inappropriate relationship with a former teacher, begins revisiting her past with guidance from Saint Monica Lewinsky herself. The concept feels sharp, original, and layered with commentary about power, shame, and the ways women are often expected to carry the weight of experiences shaped by men.
The novel balances humor with heavier emotional themes, and at its best, the writing feels clever, self-aware, and painfully honest. I especially appreciated how the story explored the long shadow these experiences leave behind and the struggle to reclaim your own voice after years of silence.
What held the book back for me was the pacing in the middle section. The opening and ending are strong and memorable, but the story loses momentum halfway through and feels longer than necessary. I found myself wishing the narrative had been tightened by several chapters to keep the emotional impact sharper and more focused.
Even with those issues, I think many readers will connect with the book’s offbeat style, emotional honesty, and cultural commentary. I could also easily see this adapted into a film or limited series because the premise translates so well visually and emotionally.
The novel balances humor with heavier emotional themes, and at its best, the writing feels clever, self-aware, and painfully honest. I especially appreciated how the story explored the long shadow these experiences leave behind and the struggle to reclaim your own voice after years of silence.
What held the book back for me was the pacing in the middle section. The opening and ending are strong and memorable, but the story loses momentum halfway through and feels longer than necessary. I found myself wishing the narrative had been tightened by several chapters to keep the emotional impact sharper and more focused.
Even with those issues, I think many readers will connect with the book’s offbeat style, emotional honesty, and cultural commentary. I could also easily see this adapted into a film or limited series because the premise translates so well visually and emotionally.
November 14, 2025
Easily one of my favorite books of the year.
2019 Jean is invited to a reunion for her study abroad program in France. David Harwell, a professor and scholar, is retiring. It's been over 20 years, but Jean is still affected by the inappropriate relationship that happened that summer between her and Harwell. After receiving the invitation, she has a small breakdown and seeks refuge in a church. There, Saint Monica (Lewinsky) appears to her and guides her back in time to remember the experience and gain new insight. Interspersed in the story are retellings from The Golden Legend of young female saints who were taken advantage of and killed by men (peep the book cover)
Beautiful prose (sumptuous, resplendent). Well-researched dive into medeival churches. Succulent decriptions of food and cooking. Devastating descriptions of Jean and David and that unique feeling of being a young woman in an ambivalent dalliance with a power imbalance. If books are a portable magic, I was teleported back to being a college student, alongside Jean and Saint Monica. I loved this so much, it hit so hard.
2019 Jean is invited to a reunion for her study abroad program in France. David Harwell, a professor and scholar, is retiring. It's been over 20 years, but Jean is still affected by the inappropriate relationship that happened that summer between her and Harwell. After receiving the invitation, she has a small breakdown and seeks refuge in a church. There, Saint Monica (Lewinsky) appears to her and guides her back in time to remember the experience and gain new insight. Interspersed in the story are retellings from The Golden Legend of young female saints who were taken advantage of and killed by men (peep the book cover)
Beautiful prose (sumptuous, resplendent). Well-researched dive into medeival churches. Succulent decriptions of food and cooking. Devastating descriptions of Jean and David and that unique feeling of being a young woman in an ambivalent dalliance with a power imbalance. If books are a portable magic, I was teleported back to being a college student, alongside Jean and Saint Monica. I loved this so much, it hit so hard.
May 22, 2026
The novel is a bold, clever comic confection that also manages to be a serious and poignant examination of female desire and male power.
June 25, 2026
I waited months for this book and I was so bummed. Boring, pitiful execution, and at 31% decided to end my own pain and suffering.
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