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What's Never Said
It's dangerous to search for an old flame you never got over. What if you find him-and he doesn't remember you? In her captivating new novel, Susan Shapiro explores the perils of revisiting past passion. Lila Penn leaves Wisconsin for graduate school in the big city, where she falls for her professor Daniel Wildman. Decades after their tangled link, she arranges a tête-à-tête in downtown Manhattan. But the shocking encounter blindsides Lila, causing her to question her memory-and sanity. Switching between Greenwich Village and Tel Aviv, the saga unravels the sexual secret that's haunted Daniel and Lila for thirty years. PRAISE FOR SUSAN "Frank, darkly funny, entertaining..." -New York Times Book Review "A promiscuously readable guilty pleasure..." -Elle Magazine "Funny and original, with a soulfulness beneath the humor." -Ian Frazier "Sly, candid, disarming..." -Pam Houston "Shapiro's voice is so passionate and honest, it's bewitching." -Erica Jong "Irresistible energy, winning humor... breathtakingly frank honesty." -Philip Lopate "Unputdownable." -Gael Greene
- GenresFiction
284 pages, Hardcover
First published August 3, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
July 15, 2015
**A publisher sent me an advance copy of this book to review. Just in case that bothers you.
What's Never Said tells the story of a failed relationship (which we know was doomed from the first chapter) between a poetry grad student, Lila Lerner, and her professor, Daniel Wildman. The narrator alternates between Lerner and Wildman every chapter, offering the reader head-shaking insight into both characters' minds and hearts as their relationship crumbles around them.
The story is told out of time, both beginning and ending in the present day. Wildman's poetry has finally found critical acclaim and he hosts a book reading in New York, which Lerner attends. When he does not recognize her, we are sent spiraling down the rabbit hole of their decades old relationship.
Shapiro's writing makes What's Never Said difficult to step away from. I don't read a lot of romantic fiction, and I wouldn't consider it a genre that I enjoy, but I had trouble leaving the story alone. Part of this is because Lerner and Wildman were writing and studying poetry together, so it would come up in their conversations frequently. Not a chapter passed without some bit of poetry being recited from one character to another. The terse, image-laden style of poetry bled into Shapiro's prose as well without ever becoming flowery or tedious. She also captures dialogue perfectly, which is an unfortunately rare ability.
I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. I think the story of bungled love that turns out okay, even if it still stings every once in a while, is one that most people can appreciate. Shapiro does an impressive job of exploring the lies we tell ourselves and others; rhapsodizing the messiness of love, life and friendship; and illuminating both the pains and pleasures of love lost and love retained.
What's Never Said tells the story of a failed relationship (which we know was doomed from the first chapter) between a poetry grad student, Lila Lerner, and her professor, Daniel Wildman. The narrator alternates between Lerner and Wildman every chapter, offering the reader head-shaking insight into both characters' minds and hearts as their relationship crumbles around them.
The story is told out of time, both beginning and ending in the present day. Wildman's poetry has finally found critical acclaim and he hosts a book reading in New York, which Lerner attends. When he does not recognize her, we are sent spiraling down the rabbit hole of their decades old relationship.
Shapiro's writing makes What's Never Said difficult to step away from. I don't read a lot of romantic fiction, and I wouldn't consider it a genre that I enjoy, but I had trouble leaving the story alone. Part of this is because Lerner and Wildman were writing and studying poetry together, so it would come up in their conversations frequently. Not a chapter passed without some bit of poetry being recited from one character to another. The terse, image-laden style of poetry bled into Shapiro's prose as well without ever becoming flowery or tedious. She also captures dialogue perfectly, which is an unfortunately rare ability.
I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. I think the story of bungled love that turns out okay, even if it still stings every once in a while, is one that most people can appreciate. Shapiro does an impressive job of exploring the lies we tell ourselves and others; rhapsodizing the messiness of love, life and friendship; and illuminating both the pains and pleasures of love lost and love retained.
September 10, 2015
A hilarious novel about the MFA industry.
June 18, 2015
Years after their doomed love affair, Lila Penn, a beautiful blonde poet from the midwest, decides to attend a reading by her old graduate school professor, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. To her shock, he apparently fails to recognize her, sending her on a journey to the past where she recalls how their student-professor affair began in secrecy and ultimately crashed.
With her eye for detail and dialogue, Ms. Shapiro, author of "Five Men Who Broke My Heart" and the NYT bestselling co-author of "the Bosnia List", has created a honest and painful portrait of two ambitious poets who fall in love but fail to connect because of "what's never said"- an ironic situation given that it's set against the backdrop of a world filled with "words" - academia and publishing.
Written with alterating points of view, Ms. Shapiro skillfully depicts the ambivalence and complicated feelings of two flawed human beings who were not ultimately meant for one another. Moving, funny and filled with revealing insights about the literary and publishing worlds, "What's Never Said" is a highly enjoyable, must-read novel.
With her eye for detail and dialogue, Ms. Shapiro, author of "Five Men Who Broke My Heart" and the NYT bestselling co-author of "the Bosnia List", has created a honest and painful portrait of two ambitious poets who fall in love but fail to connect because of "what's never said"- an ironic situation given that it's set against the backdrop of a world filled with "words" - academia and publishing.
Written with alterating points of view, Ms. Shapiro skillfully depicts the ambivalence and complicated feelings of two flawed human beings who were not ultimately meant for one another. Moving, funny and filled with revealing insights about the literary and publishing worlds, "What's Never Said" is a highly enjoyable, must-read novel.
July 26, 2015
I LOVED reading this evocative tale about what happens when young love intersects with 'ready to settle' maturity. Shapiro uses juicy details from her own experiences ( as can be discovered from her memoirs, which are excellent resources for writers and those with addictive personalities) and uses her expertise in poetry and critiquing as a backdrop for the plot. It's a haunting example about how 'what's never said' can change the course of multiple lives. As someone who fell in love with someone unreachable, I couldn't put this down! The characters were so well developed and real that I almost googled them. Without giving spoilers, one of the best things about this book is that it's not a predictable; it's like poetry--truth by metaphor.
I can't wait to see what the author comes up with in her next book this coming fall!!!
I can't wait to see what the author comes up with in her next book this coming fall!!!
August 1, 2015
What’s not to love about WHAT’S NEVER SAID?
I’ve read all of Susan Shapiro’s memoirs. What makes me a big fan besides her effortless, humorous, sharp and skillful story telling is how relatable she is. I couldn’t have been more excited to read her first novel, WHAT’S NEVER SAID—and was thrilled to find it as captivating and engaging as her other writings.
I have known the kind of love the main character, Lila, feels for her older professor, the unrequited love you want to claim but can’t have, the romantic and poignant desire to make love through poetic verse, as well as the wish to be seen and validated no matter what age you are. I turned through the pages quickly on my beach vacation with anticipation and highly recommend you pick up this gratifying read this summer.
I’ve read all of Susan Shapiro’s memoirs. What makes me a big fan besides her effortless, humorous, sharp and skillful story telling is how relatable she is. I couldn’t have been more excited to read her first novel, WHAT’S NEVER SAID—and was thrilled to find it as captivating and engaging as her other writings.
I have known the kind of love the main character, Lila, feels for her older professor, the unrequited love you want to claim but can’t have, the romantic and poignant desire to make love through poetic verse, as well as the wish to be seen and validated no matter what age you are. I turned through the pages quickly on my beach vacation with anticipation and highly recommend you pick up this gratifying read this summer.
July 22, 2015
A smart, sexy, and addicting book! Relatable for anyone that wonders about the one that got away. I loved the poetry woven into the story and the sharp suspense of the plot. I was first hooked by Shapiro’s honesty and dark wit in "Five Men Who Broke My Heart" and her experience of overcoming addictions in "Lighting Up." She also has a great book about writing, "Only As Good As Your Word," which is packed with lessons on publishing from her mentors. Love this author, and "What’s Never Said" may be my new favorite book by her.
July 27, 2015
I'm a fan of Susan Shapiro and this book is my favorite of hers to date. Tracing a complex love affair across decades and continents, against the backdrop of the NYC poetry world, Lila Penn and her professor, Daniel, remain entangled through 'what's never said.' The characters are as complex and real as love, and in alternating between Lila and Daniel's POVs I found myself taken with multiple stories in one. Anyone who's been haunted by a doomed love affair will especially relate. The book is unputdownable.
July 6, 2015
I am one of Susan Shapiro's writing students, so I am not unbiassed, but I have to share - this is the most beautiful novel! I devoured it in a night. I'm in such love with it.
WHAT's NEVER SAID is a sexy and enchanting story of NYC in the 80s, the poets behaving badly, unkillable love.
I'm taken. <3
Discover it!!
WHAT's NEVER SAID is a sexy and enchanting story of NYC in the 80s, the poets behaving badly, unkillable love.
I'm taken. <3
Discover it!!
July 28, 2015
What’s Never Said hooked me in an wouldn’t let me go. In poetic prose, Shapiro spins the story of a love affair between a student and a professor. It’s a shocking tale, told beautifully. I couldn’t put it down. After devouring Shapiro’s bestselling memoir Five Men Who Broke My Heart, this fictional sequil did not disappoint. Shapiro has done it again!
July 20, 2015
Susan Shapiro is clearly a talented writer, and What's Never Said may be her best work to date. It's sharp, entertaining and incredibly poignant. As a reader, I was emotional, engrossed and entertained. Her prose speaks to you as if you're truly part of the story. I could not put this book down!
October 5, 2015
LOVED THIS BOOK! A FUNNY, INTELLIGENT, MOVING novel. Completely captivating from the first page, as the mystery that ingeniously frames the novel keeps you reading and wondering, what is the nature of love and companionship? With depth and humor, the author creates a portrait of a young poet, Lila Penn, who has moved to New York City from Wisconsin and fallen for her writing professor, Daniel Wildman, twenty years her senior. But this is not a straightforward love story. This skillfully told tale moves back and forth in time, spanning two decades, capturing both Lila and Daniel, two very different, very complex, characters, vividly, totally believably, and with great compassion. Shapiro portrays their passion for writing, and for each other, hilariously, painfully, but always poignantly, as they feverishly edit and mark up each other’s poems, and each other’s lives. The lines of famous poets and writers throughout the book, as well as the scenes of the fictional characters slashing and marking up each other’s work, makes for a unique and very enjoyable reading experience. But one of Shapiro’s strongest assets as a writer is the psychological insight she brings to Lila and Daniel. Despite their weaknesses and insecurities, or perhaps because of them, their humanity shines through, as they navigate love and art and every artist’s nemesis, self-doubt. The author’s characters grow and evolve in deep and complex ways, and by the end of the book, are changed, and yet, become somehow, more themselves, which is so much like real life. Lila’s friend and roommate, the fabulously named Sari Dare, as well as Lila's mother, Hannah, and Lila's boss, Christopher, are just a few of the well-drawn characters whose lives take surprising turns. Daniel’s shrink, Zalman, is a particularly wise and funny character who attempts, with pithy observations and sage advice, to help Daniel stay grounded. When the lovesick Daniel wonders if there are any writing duos who have lasted, Zalman replies, “Robert and Elizabeth Browning in 1846.” It’s Zalman who reminds Daniel that “a relationship needs one flower and one gardener.” He would be pleased to know that the two main characters in this novel reach a level of contentment and maturity. It takes them a while and going along for the ride is the fun of it. The book culminates with a beautiful scene first with Daniel’s family and then with Lila and Christopher, where Shapiro writes about married love beautifully, how, with all of its flaws and imperfections, this union provides a loyalty, closeness, security and understanding in a way that other, sometimes more passionate, relationships, cannot. By the last page, every character has come to a deeper understanding about him or herself, and about love. As Zalman so wisely says to Daniel, “The heart is half a prophet. Now be a man and use your head.” Lila thinks back “longingly of reciting transcendent lines at midnight, certain that…a fresh stanza would heal their childhood traumas.” But we cheer her on as she reclaims the last poem she wrote thinking it was her final effort, and discovers in its end a beginning. A most enjoyable book. Very highly recommended.
August 4, 2015
I found myself laughing out loud on the subway when I was reading this. Susan Shapiro has crafted a novel that spans three decades, two continents and manages to be funny, nostalgic, bitter-sweet and intelligent all at once. What I found particularly compelling was the way she not only inhabits the mind of the 20-year old female protagonist Lila Penn but also that of her 40-year old neurotic poetry professor Daniel Wildman too, a compelling, confused and insecure intellectual who threatens to steal every scene. And what about the snake-like Howard, a rival prof? These characters jump off the page with a deluge of memorable quotes. Even Lila's mom, Hannah gets in on the action ("Honey, a Jewish man that's never been married by forty-two is schlepping a different kind of luggage around."). You'll find yourself turning pages without realizing it.
September 8, 2015
A Binge Worth Having...
How could anyone forget Lila Penn!
She is all of us that have come to NYC to find ourselves. It brought me on a ride of nostalgia of the early 80’s. It made me smile, snicker & laugh out loud on the train. Making my Labor Day weekend complete!
What’s Never Said: So vividly described downtown locations, a host of memorable friends and frenemies, rounded out in 3D Technicolor. All the time letting you into Lila & Daniel’s heads and the adventures over a 30 yr span traversing the literary scene and 2 continents, where you felt the ache of youth and the anxiety of age.
With Five Men who broke my heart you hooked me, Speed Shrinking made me fasten my seat belt. What’s Never Said makes me want more, more, more of Susan Shapiro
What’s next on the Horizon?
How could anyone forget Lila Penn!
She is all of us that have come to NYC to find ourselves. It brought me on a ride of nostalgia of the early 80’s. It made me smile, snicker & laugh out loud on the train. Making my Labor Day weekend complete!
What’s Never Said: So vividly described downtown locations, a host of memorable friends and frenemies, rounded out in 3D Technicolor. All the time letting you into Lila & Daniel’s heads and the adventures over a 30 yr span traversing the literary scene and 2 continents, where you felt the ache of youth and the anxiety of age.
With Five Men who broke my heart you hooked me, Speed Shrinking made me fasten my seat belt. What’s Never Said makes me want more, more, more of Susan Shapiro
What’s next on the Horizon?
October 8, 2015
What’s Never Said took me in, strapped me up, and didn’t let me go.
I’ve read nearly all of Shapiro’s books but this one, I’d have to say, is my favorite. I found it incredibly addicting, witty, moving, and most of all…sexy! I enjoyed how the poetry was woven into the story and Shapiro’s profound ability to make the reader feel the emotions that her characters do. This book is relatable for anyone that ponders about the one that got away (or if they were the one who got away from someone else). It’s a shocking tale with many twists and turns. I’m sure glad I didn’t miss out. You shouldn’t either!
A MUST have and a MUST read!!!
I’ve read nearly all of Shapiro’s books but this one, I’d have to say, is my favorite. I found it incredibly addicting, witty, moving, and most of all…sexy! I enjoyed how the poetry was woven into the story and Shapiro’s profound ability to make the reader feel the emotions that her characters do. This book is relatable for anyone that ponders about the one that got away (or if they were the one who got away from someone else). It’s a shocking tale with many twists and turns. I’m sure glad I didn’t miss out. You shouldn’t either!
A MUST have and a MUST read!!!
November 4, 2015
Anyone hankering for a taste of the New York poetry scene during the early 1980s should read this book. Shapiro builds a world rich with dialogue, deftly moving the narrative point of view from poetry student, Lila, to professor, Daniel, transporting the reader from the near present day to a time when New York poets gathered in the Village for parties in studio apartments. As the novel delves into the love relationship between Lila and Daniel, it reflects on what makes the heart of a New York poem tick. There's much to enjoy in this lively novel!
August 4, 2015
I didn't find this one altogether appealing, but in the end, I was glad I stuck with it and finished it. Definitely delved into some deeper topics than your ordinary chick lit, but it just didn't create a world that I wanted to spend time in.
February 6, 2017
This is a gorgeous book that will transport you. Reading it, I felt the hotness of young and haunting love all over again. The alternating voices and perspectives is brilliant and something we sadly never get in life. A must read!
September 12, 2015
Just ok. Didn't really go anywhere. Was looking for a great ending. Nope.
July 14, 2016
this was a sexy, love story between grad student and professor in Greenwich Village in the 80s. Definitely a page turner. Though I got through it quickly, it's stayed with me in a haunting way.
February 11, 2016
If you want to read a book about two insecure, love-starved, paranoid, vapid poets replete with sexual phobias, this is the one for you.
July 24, 2016
Beautiful writing. Great story, interesting people. Each character is doing his or her best, making mistakes, and facing the consequences.
October 6, 2015
I especially enjoyed the ending.
October 6, 2020
Absolutely loved this book! It's such a thrilling read! The alternating chapters switch between the perspectives of Lila and Daniel shedding light on hidden desires and offering the reader an omniscient understanding of their doomed love story. You'll find yourself intrigued, frustrated, and tantalized throughout the whole book. Never a dull moment!
Although the romance between Lila and Daniel is the main focal point of the story Shapiro isn't a one dimensional author, and the complexities she weaves into this novel won't be a surprise to any long time fans like myself. She immerses the reader into the 1980's New York poetry scene, the relationship between a Jewish mother and her daughter, the everlasting effect of losing a parent at a young age, and more!
I highly recommend reading this!
Although the romance between Lila and Daniel is the main focal point of the story Shapiro isn't a one dimensional author, and the complexities she weaves into this novel won't be a surprise to any long time fans like myself. She immerses the reader into the 1980's New York poetry scene, the relationship between a Jewish mother and her daughter, the everlasting effect of losing a parent at a young age, and more!
I highly recommend reading this!
February 5, 2019
Susan Shapiro's WHAT'S NEVER SAID is a perfect summer book -- and anytime book. Shapiro's writing is superb. The characters are so well drawn, and each sentence is expertly crafted. (I just kept thinking: the writing is so freakin' good!) Plus, it's funny as hell. I loved how this book addressed a complex, timely subject -- the relationship between a college student and her professor -- without turning it into a one-note, cautionary polemic. Instead, this complex-but-fun-to-read narrative explores the issue of power from multiple perspectives: regardless of external status, how do we have power over the people we care for? I loved this book. Highly, highly recommended.
March 30, 2021
I'm clearly in the minority here, because all I can see down my page are 4-and 5-star reviews. Am I the only one who didn't find this book "hilarious"? The sole person who found BOTH protagonists whiny and prone to navel gazing in the extreme? I just wanted to slap both of them and say, "For the love of God, MOVE ON!!!" The endless angst made this a slog of a novel for me, but I persevered and finished.
Hilarious? No
Brilliant? Perhaps the poetry, although I'm not a poetry fan.
Angsty? YES
Predictable? Yes
Worth reading again? Definitely not.
Hilarious? No
Brilliant? Perhaps the poetry, although I'm not a poetry fan.
Angsty? YES
Predictable? Yes
Worth reading again? Definitely not.
January 2, 2020
I devoured this book in a few sittings, pulled into Shapiro’s two worlds:1980s Greenwich Village and Israel and 2010. It’s a heartbreaking and also hilarious insight into a love story with more than two sides. The shifting points of view moving back and forth between Lila and Daniel
revealed both sides and interpretations of how a love story can go wrong.
Shapiro makes you feel like you’re right in the mind of all her characters! I can’t wait to read more of her novels.
revealed both sides and interpretations of how a love story can go wrong.
Shapiro makes you feel like you’re right in the mind of all her characters! I can’t wait to read more of her novels.
May 12, 2018
Touching, insider look at writing, love and aspiration. Shapiro has a witty, clean writing style that immediately made my like Lila and want to know what became of her and Daniel. Her writing is “like peeling all the layers of lies you tell yourself until you get to your most naked honesty.” Well done.
May 2, 2019
Very well done. I love Shapiro's work. If you haven't read her, don't hesitate. Lighting Up and The Five Men who Broke my Heart are also great. This book is engaging. I plowed thru it bc I couldn't wait to see what would happen. The characters are well drawn. It's difficult not to invest in them. Worth the time.
June 8, 2016
At a reading in Manhattan, I once heard author Susan Shapiro say that it's easier for her to write memoirs ("Five Men Who Broke My Heart" and "Lighting Up: How I Stopped Smoking, Drinking, and Everything Else I Loved in Life Except Having Sex") than it is writing fiction. I believe she put it, "Fiction kills me." After reading "What's Never Said," I understood. Shapiro, in creating her characters Lila and Daniel, the naive MFA student and the suffering older professor, gave them such intense needs, so much desire, greed and love, indeed, and so much soul, she had to have experienced something like a death either in bringing them to life or in letting them go at the end of the book.
A love story spanning decades, not only between Lila, the innocent Midwestern protégé and Daniel, her poetry professor, but between Lila and New York City, where she runs to escape her family and high school sweetheart, and where she runs to find the father she lost at a young age. Psychology plays its own role throughout "What's Never Said," but the story never slows. Shapiro stays true to her fast-paced dialogue, and the humor, sarcasm and wit she's known for in her writing. It comes out in Lila and Daniel's relationship, in their best friends, their rivals, and in their parents, both living and dead.
I recommend "What's Never Said" for its look into the poetry/MFA/literary journal world in NYC in the 1980's. I recommend it for the tender, if not beautiful, way it shows life after losing a parent, and I recommend it to anyone who's in love, has ever been in love, or who longs for love. You will find both comfort and the truth in this book.
A love story spanning decades, not only between Lila, the innocent Midwestern protégé and Daniel, her poetry professor, but between Lila and New York City, where she runs to escape her family and high school sweetheart, and where she runs to find the father she lost at a young age. Psychology plays its own role throughout "What's Never Said," but the story never slows. Shapiro stays true to her fast-paced dialogue, and the humor, sarcasm and wit she's known for in her writing. It comes out in Lila and Daniel's relationship, in their best friends, their rivals, and in their parents, both living and dead.
I recommend "What's Never Said" for its look into the poetry/MFA/literary journal world in NYC in the 1980's. I recommend it for the tender, if not beautiful, way it shows life after losing a parent, and I recommend it to anyone who's in love, has ever been in love, or who longs for love. You will find both comfort and the truth in this book.
September 7, 2015
When I read the back cover copy for this one (for which I'd been given an ACR), I was less than excited -- as a college professor and therefore also former grad student, the story of a professor/student affair gone wrong sounded cliche -- something that seems to figure more frequently in fiction than in real life, at least in my experience.
However, Lila's and Daniel's voices rang true, even from the very first pages. Both characters were maddening and wrongheaded at times, but relationships go that way -- the way they find and feed on both the best and the worst in each other, their intellectual compatibility and their emotional trainwreck and all the ways that they sabotaged themselves, felt very true to life. (And though I've never dated either my professors or my students, I did have a couple of relationships with older men when I was a bit later in my 20s than Lila was, which this brought back vividly.) Things work out too neatly in some places, but are satisfyingly messy in others.
On a shallower level, I moved to New York a few years after Lila, and all of the references to shopping at Unique Clothing Warehouse and eating at Dojo, and the St. Mark's Place that was, made for a read that felt pleasantly nostalgic.
However, Lila's and Daniel's voices rang true, even from the very first pages. Both characters were maddening and wrongheaded at times, but relationships go that way -- the way they find and feed on both the best and the worst in each other, their intellectual compatibility and their emotional trainwreck and all the ways that they sabotaged themselves, felt very true to life. (And though I've never dated either my professors or my students, I did have a couple of relationships with older men when I was a bit later in my 20s than Lila was, which this brought back vividly.) Things work out too neatly in some places, but are satisfyingly messy in others.
On a shallower level, I moved to New York a few years after Lila, and all of the references to shopping at Unique Clothing Warehouse and eating at Dojo, and the St. Mark's Place that was, made for a read that felt pleasantly nostalgic.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews