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George and Lizzie
From “America’s librarian” and NPR books commentator Nancy Pearl comes an emotionally riveting debut novel about an unlikely marriage at a crossroads.
George and Lizzie have radically different understandings of what love and marriage should be. George grew up in a warm and loving family—his father an orthodontist, his mother a stay-at-home mom—while Lizzie grew up as the only child of two famous psychologists, who viewed her more as an in-house experiment than a child to love.
Over the course of their marriage, nothing has changed—George is happy; Lizzie remains…unfulfilled. When a shameful secret from Lizzie’s past resurfaces, she’ll need to face her fears in order to accept the true nature of the relationship she and George have built over a decade together.
With pitch-perfect prose and compassion and humor to spare, George and Lizzie is an intimate story of new and past loves, the scars of childhood, and an imperfect marriage at its defining moments.
George and Lizzie have radically different understandings of what love and marriage should be. George grew up in a warm and loving family—his father an orthodontist, his mother a stay-at-home mom—while Lizzie grew up as the only child of two famous psychologists, who viewed her more as an in-house experiment than a child to love.
Over the course of their marriage, nothing has changed—George is happy; Lizzie remains…unfulfilled. When a shameful secret from Lizzie’s past resurfaces, she’ll need to face her fears in order to accept the true nature of the relationship she and George have built over a decade together.
With pitch-perfect prose and compassion and humor to spare, George and Lizzie is an intimate story of new and past loves, the scars of childhood, and an imperfect marriage at its defining moments.
278 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2017
284 people are currently reading
5853 people want to read
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August 7, 2017
Did you ever meet a couple who are married or dating, and you wonder what it is that keeps them together? Reading Nancy Pearl's
George and Lizzie
is kind of like that.
George Goldenrosen and Lizzie Bultmann couldn't be more different. George is affable, earnest, maybe even a little goofy. His parents loved him and his brother (and loved each other), and his father was a successful orthodontist in Tulsa, where although he was known as "the Jewish orthodontist," he treated not only all of the Jewish kids, but others as well.
Lizzie, on the other hand, was raised by two behavioral psychologists, who approached parenting as more of an experiment, and worked to control their daughter's behavior like they did their lab rats'. Everything she did, how they responded, and how she reacted were fodder for their research, and so much of her life was part of their academic legacy. But when in a moment of weakness Lizzie admitted her participation in a morally questionable activity she called "The Great Game," she didn't expect it to haunt her.
George and Lizzie have a meet-cute at a bowling alley when Lizzie and George are both students at the University of Michigan, Lizzie as an undergraduate, George as a dental student. Lizzie is nursing her wounds after the end of a relationship she thought was "the one," so she had no expectations of meeting anyone else, but George was instantly smitten. And Lizzie? Well, Lizzie was certainly fond of George...
As their relationship blossoms, Lizzie knows that George isn't really what she wants, but she doesn't seem to have the strength to object. While their different philosophies on love, relationships, and marriage cause friction, George knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with Lizzie. It isn't quite what she wants, but she doesn't know what the alternative really is. Is it settling if she loves George but feels unfulfilled?
George and Lizzie follows the couple through their first 10 years of marriage, until a long-hidden secret of Lizzie's surfaces, forcing her to finally decide what path she wants to follow. In the meantime, the book shifts back and forth between the two, and also shifts back and forth through both of their lives, detouring all over the place to briefly profile other people who have a peripheral role in the story. Sometimes the chapters serve more as vignettes than anything that actually advances the plot.
Nancy Pearl, who is a books commentator for National Public Radio, definitely knows how to tell a story. Parts of the book are entertaining, even funny, while others are poignant and thought-provoking. But in the end, I found Lizzie really unlikable and couldn't understand why anyone, much less someone like George, continued to want to be with her. At one point in the book he tells her that she is the most self-centered person he's ever known, and another time he says that she has the emotional maturity of a young child. While some of that can be attributable to her odd childhood, she doesn't do much to break out of that rut as an adult, and continuing to cling to old memories and regrets, while understandable, doesn't make her a particularly sympathetic character.
There's still a good story in here, but it requires more patience, as well as work to unearth it, than most books do.
NetGalley and Touchstone provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
George Goldenrosen and Lizzie Bultmann couldn't be more different. George is affable, earnest, maybe even a little goofy. His parents loved him and his brother (and loved each other), and his father was a successful orthodontist in Tulsa, where although he was known as "the Jewish orthodontist," he treated not only all of the Jewish kids, but others as well.
Lizzie, on the other hand, was raised by two behavioral psychologists, who approached parenting as more of an experiment, and worked to control their daughter's behavior like they did their lab rats'. Everything she did, how they responded, and how she reacted were fodder for their research, and so much of her life was part of their academic legacy. But when in a moment of weakness Lizzie admitted her participation in a morally questionable activity she called "The Great Game," she didn't expect it to haunt her.
George and Lizzie have a meet-cute at a bowling alley when Lizzie and George are both students at the University of Michigan, Lizzie as an undergraduate, George as a dental student. Lizzie is nursing her wounds after the end of a relationship she thought was "the one," so she had no expectations of meeting anyone else, but George was instantly smitten. And Lizzie? Well, Lizzie was certainly fond of George...
As their relationship blossoms, Lizzie knows that George isn't really what she wants, but she doesn't seem to have the strength to object. While their different philosophies on love, relationships, and marriage cause friction, George knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with Lizzie. It isn't quite what she wants, but she doesn't know what the alternative really is. Is it settling if she loves George but feels unfulfilled?
George and Lizzie follows the couple through their first 10 years of marriage, until a long-hidden secret of Lizzie's surfaces, forcing her to finally decide what path she wants to follow. In the meantime, the book shifts back and forth between the two, and also shifts back and forth through both of their lives, detouring all over the place to briefly profile other people who have a peripheral role in the story. Sometimes the chapters serve more as vignettes than anything that actually advances the plot.
Nancy Pearl, who is a books commentator for National Public Radio, definitely knows how to tell a story. Parts of the book are entertaining, even funny, while others are poignant and thought-provoking. But in the end, I found Lizzie really unlikable and couldn't understand why anyone, much less someone like George, continued to want to be with her. At one point in the book he tells her that she is the most self-centered person he's ever known, and another time he says that she has the emotional maturity of a young child. While some of that can be attributable to her odd childhood, she doesn't do much to break out of that rut as an adult, and continuing to cling to old memories and regrets, while understandable, doesn't make her a particularly sympathetic character.
There's still a good story in here, but it requires more patience, as well as work to unearth it, than most books do.
NetGalley and Touchstone provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
Want to read
April 10, 2018i asked nancy pearl many questions over on riffle to celebrate national library week! and she ANSWERED them! check out my interview and enter to win your very own nancy pearl action figure!
https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/258039
nancy freaking pearl, book superstar, now knows my name.
i swoon.
https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/258039
nancy freaking pearl, book superstar, now knows my name.
i swoon.
September 7, 2017
This is a really quirky and emotional story and a compelling character study. It may be called George and Lizzie, but it's mostly about Lizzie... her emotional trauma, her decisions, heartbreak, loves, hang-ups, and general life experiences. She had a strange childhood, and made a bit of a strange sexual game in high school that continues to haunt her long after most people would have chalked it up to adolescent mistakes.
Even after George and Lizzie get married, she is obsessed with her past. For the reader it's a bit unclear why exactly she can't let things go, and we begin to doubt she ever will. While she at least appreciates George, it's clear that she can't or won't allow herself to love him in the ardent way he loves her.
The story has moments of heartbreak and moments that will make you laugh. I enjoyed it. There are lots of football and poetry references, so if you're interested in either or both, it'll add to the experience. It certainly did for me. It was a completely unexpected addition to the story. Lizzie can be hard to identify with or understand, but I still felt warmth for the character even when I was thinking she needed pretty hefty therapy or a reality check. I loved the ending, too!
I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and Touchstone, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.
Even after George and Lizzie get married, she is obsessed with her past. For the reader it's a bit unclear why exactly she can't let things go, and we begin to doubt she ever will. While she at least appreciates George, it's clear that she can't or won't allow herself to love him in the ardent way he loves her.
The story has moments of heartbreak and moments that will make you laugh. I enjoyed it. There are lots of football and poetry references, so if you're interested in either or both, it'll add to the experience. It certainly did for me. It was a completely unexpected addition to the story. Lizzie can be hard to identify with or understand, but I still felt warmth for the character even when I was thinking she needed pretty hefty therapy or a reality check. I loved the ending, too!
I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and Touchstone, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.
August 25, 2017
(2.5) Oh how I wanted to love the debut novel by one of my literary heroes: super-librarian and book recommending machine Nancy Pearl. There are some endearing characters and enjoyable scenes in this tale of an odd couple’s marriage, but in what was likely a desperate wish to avoid being boring (just think about how many novels she’s read in her lifetime, and how many of those could have been disappointments or even duds), Pearl has too often chosen to be edgy rather than sweet, and experimental rather than thorough. So instead of giving us a traditional tour through George and Lizzie’s family history, growing-up years, courtship and marriage, we get titled fragments that jump back and forth in time but do, ultimately, fill in a rough timeline, although the chronology can be a challenge to pinpoint.
George is a dentist with an “untroubled heart” who later earns a measure of fame for motivational speaking; Lizzie is a literary dabbler who was raised by unfeeling psychologists and lost her true love after admitting to a series of sexual mistakes in her high school years. Perhaps Pearl hoped to tell an empowering parable that counters slut-shaming, but it’s as hard for this reader to forgive Lizzie her romantic failings as it is for Lizzie to forgive herself. There’s just no wiggle room here for understanding why Lizzie does what she does, and Pearl so gleefully describes it all with F words that it feels distasteful. Her/Lizzie’s dutiful research into football hardly helps, instead making this seem like a weak imitation of John Irving. (Also somewhat reminiscent of A Spool of Blue Thread.)
The writing is notably poor in the earliest sections, where the attempt at a breathless, chatty style – “Anyway,” “what the hell,” “Weird!” – is a distraction. At the risk of sounding unkind, I would also tend to echo Lizzie’s note to Jack: “YOUR PARENTHESES MAKE ME FEEL LIKE SLITTING MY WRISTS.” And I spotted a few seeming anachronisms, such as “bling” appearing in a shop name in 1992 and characters communicating largely by phone and letter in 2000, when e-mail should already have come to dominate. The characterization is good with the exception of Lizzie’s parents, who are relentlessly described as “automatons” and never given the chance to grow out of their typecasting.
Of the title characters, George is much the more sympathetic, and Lizzie’s final epiphany, in which she decides to join George in choosing happiness, means that he wins. The Christmas sequence with his family in Tulsa is the best thing about the book; the next best thing is the references to Lizzie’s reading and the books she buys for other people. You can see just how much fun Pearl had with these little asides: it’s what she’s good at, after all, and probably what she should stick to.
George is a dentist with an “untroubled heart” who later earns a measure of fame for motivational speaking; Lizzie is a literary dabbler who was raised by unfeeling psychologists and lost her true love after admitting to a series of sexual mistakes in her high school years. Perhaps Pearl hoped to tell an empowering parable that counters slut-shaming, but it’s as hard for this reader to forgive Lizzie her romantic failings as it is for Lizzie to forgive herself. There’s just no wiggle room here for understanding why Lizzie does what she does, and Pearl so gleefully describes it all with F words that it feels distasteful. Her/Lizzie’s dutiful research into football hardly helps, instead making this seem like a weak imitation of John Irving. (Also somewhat reminiscent of A Spool of Blue Thread.)
The writing is notably poor in the earliest sections, where the attempt at a breathless, chatty style – “Anyway,” “what the hell,” “Weird!” – is a distraction. At the risk of sounding unkind, I would also tend to echo Lizzie’s note to Jack: “YOUR PARENTHESES MAKE ME FEEL LIKE SLITTING MY WRISTS.” And I spotted a few seeming anachronisms, such as “bling” appearing in a shop name in 1992 and characters communicating largely by phone and letter in 2000, when e-mail should already have come to dominate. The characterization is good with the exception of Lizzie’s parents, who are relentlessly described as “automatons” and never given the chance to grow out of their typecasting.
Of the title characters, George is much the more sympathetic, and Lizzie’s final epiphany, in which she decides to join George in choosing happiness, means that he wins. The Christmas sequence with his family in Tulsa is the best thing about the book; the next best thing is the references to Lizzie’s reading and the books she buys for other people. You can see just how much fun Pearl had with these little asides: it’s what she’s good at, after all, and probably what she should stick to.
December 8, 2017
Nancy Pearl may just be a natural-born writer, though she is best known for her role as bookseller, librarian, interviewer, reviewer, and motivational speaker on the pleasure and importance of reading. In a DIY MFA podcast interview with Gabriela Pereira in September 2017, she tells us that she was merely an instrument for the characters she channels in her debut novel. Her characters feel real to us as well.
Pearl reminds us that reading outside our comfort zone can be a fruitful experience, and her debut novel challenged me—hard—in its first pages. She introduces a self-destructive character so hard to love that we draw back, judging that character without understanding. I had to put the book aside, perplexed, wondering why Pearl would risk her hard-won reputation with such an unsavory character. Months later, I was still curious when I picked up the book again. I read it through nonstop and loved what she was able to do.
In the interview linked to above, Pearl discusses the importance of mood when reading. My second look at this novel is testament to her notion that mood matters with our acceptance of certain ideas. After I had already internalized the behaviors of her difficult character, I allowed Pearl’s writing to guide me. Her writing is so skilled it is almost invisible, though there were several times during this reading when I pulled out of the novel and shook my head in awe at her fluency and execution.
This novel is character-driven. Lizzie does something truly objectionable her last year in high school, designed to hurt herself, her parents, her friends, her ‘victims,’ indeed, everyone who learns of her behavior. Her need for love is so desperate that she denies it, derides it, disguises it. Her parents were difficult academics, and were probably completely to blame for their daughter’s alienation, but blame is not a worthwhile game to play. One still has to grow up, whatever hand one is dealt, and Lizzie had a hard time of it.
Later, her husband George would tell her in exasperation that she “had the emotional maturity of a three-year-old.” This story, then, is Lizzie's emotional journey, through school, boyfriends, and marriage, all the while holding onto her rage and disappointment from childhood. Many of us do this; we never really mature. Lizzie was blessed that the man she married was an even-tempered adult who loved her, and she had close friends who loved her as well. When one is loved, one generally tries not to disappoint those people, lest they turn their love away. We watch as Lizzie learns what that means—what it means to grow up.
I ended up putting everything else aside while I read this in a huge gulp, over two days, riveted to the unfolding story. I really appreciate what Pearl did with the character of George, who would be a grace note in anyone’s life, including readers’, because he seems to understand the really big lesson all of us must learn to get any measure of happiness and satisfaction from life. One can’t have all one wants in terms of love, jobs, recognition, or pay, so how can one be happy? The way one deals with failure will determine one’s future. It’s not the failure that’s important. It’s what comes after that. His lessons feel like gifts.
Poetry plays a key role in this novel, to describe a person’s conclusion, or to underline an observation. The poem at the beginning of this novel by Terence Winch, “The Bells are Ringing for Me and Chagall,” in retrospect gives the reader a very good idea of the direction of this novel, though one cannot see that at the start. The poem at the end is a paean to a long-lasting well-maintained relationship which may sustain one in times of terrible crushing sorrow. We may think we want fast and flashy cars, but reliability may save us.
There is a lot of lived experience in this novel. Pearl is in her seventies now, having done it all when it comes to literature, and now she has written a novel herself. What a brave act. Writing a novel is difficult when one is unknown. It must be terrifying to put something out there when one is well known. All that reading stood her in good stead, however. Her writing is gorgeous, clear and propulsive, and the tricks she uses to ensnare our interest—lots of conversation, poetry, lists, word games, memories—work beautifully.
I especially liked the unique structure of this novel. There are no chapters per se, but short sections that suit a remembered story. The sections have titles, in which she tells us what comes next. And what comes next, I hope, is another novel in which lifetime lessons are revealed. Thank you Nancy Pearl.
Pearl reminds us that reading outside our comfort zone can be a fruitful experience, and her debut novel challenged me—hard—in its first pages. She introduces a self-destructive character so hard to love that we draw back, judging that character without understanding. I had to put the book aside, perplexed, wondering why Pearl would risk her hard-won reputation with such an unsavory character. Months later, I was still curious when I picked up the book again. I read it through nonstop and loved what she was able to do.
In the interview linked to above, Pearl discusses the importance of mood when reading. My second look at this novel is testament to her notion that mood matters with our acceptance of certain ideas. After I had already internalized the behaviors of her difficult character, I allowed Pearl’s writing to guide me. Her writing is so skilled it is almost invisible, though there were several times during this reading when I pulled out of the novel and shook my head in awe at her fluency and execution.
This novel is character-driven. Lizzie does something truly objectionable her last year in high school, designed to hurt herself, her parents, her friends, her ‘victims,’ indeed, everyone who learns of her behavior. Her need for love is so desperate that she denies it, derides it, disguises it. Her parents were difficult academics, and were probably completely to blame for their daughter’s alienation, but blame is not a worthwhile game to play. One still has to grow up, whatever hand one is dealt, and Lizzie had a hard time of it.
Later, her husband George would tell her in exasperation that she “had the emotional maturity of a three-year-old.” This story, then, is Lizzie's emotional journey, through school, boyfriends, and marriage, all the while holding onto her rage and disappointment from childhood. Many of us do this; we never really mature. Lizzie was blessed that the man she married was an even-tempered adult who loved her, and she had close friends who loved her as well. When one is loved, one generally tries not to disappoint those people, lest they turn their love away. We watch as Lizzie learns what that means—what it means to grow up.
I ended up putting everything else aside while I read this in a huge gulp, over two days, riveted to the unfolding story. I really appreciate what Pearl did with the character of George, who would be a grace note in anyone’s life, including readers’, because he seems to understand the really big lesson all of us must learn to get any measure of happiness and satisfaction from life. One can’t have all one wants in terms of love, jobs, recognition, or pay, so how can one be happy? The way one deals with failure will determine one’s future. It’s not the failure that’s important. It’s what comes after that. His lessons feel like gifts.
Poetry plays a key role in this novel, to describe a person’s conclusion, or to underline an observation. The poem at the beginning of this novel by Terence Winch, “The Bells are Ringing for Me and Chagall,” in retrospect gives the reader a very good idea of the direction of this novel, though one cannot see that at the start. The poem at the end is a paean to a long-lasting well-maintained relationship which may sustain one in times of terrible crushing sorrow. We may think we want fast and flashy cars, but reliability may save us.
There is a lot of lived experience in this novel. Pearl is in her seventies now, having done it all when it comes to literature, and now she has written a novel herself. What a brave act. Writing a novel is difficult when one is unknown. It must be terrifying to put something out there when one is well known. All that reading stood her in good stead, however. Her writing is gorgeous, clear and propulsive, and the tricks she uses to ensnare our interest—lots of conversation, poetry, lists, word games, memories—work beautifully.
I especially liked the unique structure of this novel. There are no chapters per se, but short sections that suit a remembered story. The sections have titles, in which she tells us what comes next. And what comes next, I hope, is another novel in which lifetime lessons are revealed. Thank you Nancy Pearl.
July 18, 2018
Honestly we're still freaking out from just MEETING Nancy Pearl let alone publishing her first novel. She is the queen.
August 9, 2017
3.5 stars. There were two things that impacted my experience with this book. One was very much about me, and the other is the book. I usually like coming into books cold, but with this one, coming into it cold and knowing nothing about it actually hurt the experience.
So here's what you need to know about this before you read it: this book starts with a meet cute, but it is not a rom-com. The meet cute threw me off. I thought this was going to be a book about how a couple falls in love. It is not. At least, not exactly. You know all along that George and Lizzie end up together (the cover alone basically gives it away) but this is not that story. This is the story of how a couple makes the slow, awkward journey to a deep, trusting relationship. And more than that, it's about how Lizzie learns how to love herself.
My mistake was expecting the book I thought the first chapter was for, the jaunty meet-cute book. But it took me a while to realize that Lizzie is deeply, deeply depressed and hurt. It is hard to read a book about a character who can't see what's right in front of her, who can't appreciate her own happiness enough to make good choices. You know Lizzie deserves more than she thinks she deserves and some readers may really struggle with Lizzie not getting that.
The thing that was particularly tough for me was one plot point that happens when Lizzie is a teenager which becomes this symbol for the rest of her life. I just could not accept it. For a variety of reasons. You know how sometimes a particular plot point just sticks in your craw? This stuck in my craw. I have no reason to think it'll happen to a large number of readers, but I'd be surprised if it was just me. For something that's supposed to be such a big part of the story, that gets referred to over and over again, it was distracting to get pulled out and have to wrestle with this plot point repeatedly.
Honestly, I can see a lot of readers responding really well to this book. It's great book club fodder and it doesn't fit into the normal trope boxes, and I love that. I don't think my experience will be everyone's, I think a lot of readers will enjoy this nontraditional love story.
So here's what you need to know about this before you read it: this book starts with a meet cute, but it is not a rom-com. The meet cute threw me off. I thought this was going to be a book about how a couple falls in love. It is not. At least, not exactly. You know all along that George and Lizzie end up together (the cover alone basically gives it away) but this is not that story. This is the story of how a couple makes the slow, awkward journey to a deep, trusting relationship. And more than that, it's about how Lizzie learns how to love herself.
My mistake was expecting the book I thought the first chapter was for, the jaunty meet-cute book. But it took me a while to realize that Lizzie is deeply, deeply depressed and hurt. It is hard to read a book about a character who can't see what's right in front of her, who can't appreciate her own happiness enough to make good choices. You know Lizzie deserves more than she thinks she deserves and some readers may really struggle with Lizzie not getting that.
The thing that was particularly tough for me was one plot point that happens when Lizzie is a teenager which becomes this symbol for the rest of her life. I just could not accept it. For a variety of reasons. You know how sometimes a particular plot point just sticks in your craw? This stuck in my craw. I have no reason to think it'll happen to a large number of readers, but I'd be surprised if it was just me. For something that's supposed to be such a big part of the story, that gets referred to over and over again, it was distracting to get pulled out and have to wrestle with this plot point repeatedly.
Honestly, I can see a lot of readers responding really well to this book. It's great book club fodder and it doesn't fit into the normal trope boxes, and I love that. I don't think my experience will be everyone's, I think a lot of readers will enjoy this nontraditional love story.
August 30, 2017
I wanted to like this book, I even tried to like this book, but in the end, I just plain did not like this book. My feeling for this book are similar to The Goldfinch, although this book was shorter so Goldfinch still reigns as my least favorite book. Lizzie is one of the most self-absorbed, unlikable, self-pitying characters I have had the misfortune to read. I should have quit the book, I kept plugging along to see if there was anything redeemable and there wasn't much. Lizzie's poor choices were incredibly self destructive, which I suppose is the point, I just wish I cared about her. I'm guessing that Lizzie's orginal "poor choice", aka the "great Game" was probably what was meant to define her, but I don't think it did. I think she was pretty well defined by her parents and isn't that just a cliche. Personally I couldn't believe that she went through with the "great game", but teenagers make stupid choices. What I don't understand was that for such a smart girl, she couldn't figure out that her choices affected other people and when they did, it was just more poor Lizzie. I didn't feel George was fully fleshed out, but as a character I liked him and his family. That Lizzie (spoilers) married him, while still in love with Jack (and why was she still in love with Jack) and kept looking for Jack during their marriage, drove me crazy. And while speaking of driving someone crazy (another spoiler) when did small cell lung cancer become such a thing? I suppose the timing was not good as I am coming on the 1 year mark of losing my mother to the disease. So yeah......didn't like it. Rant done
October 23, 2020
This is the seventh book in my #atozchallenge! I'm challenging myself to read a book from my shelves that starts with each letter of the alphabet.
In high school, Lizzie made a choice--one she soon regrets--participating in something called the Great Game. The event alters the course of her life forever, along with a passionate relationship that ends in college. These moments, plus the influence of Lizzie's psychologist parents, who offer her little support as a kid, turn her into a melancholy and unfulfilled adult. Her husband, George, however, comes from a happy childhood with loving parents. He adores his family and they him. He also worships Lizzie, giving the two an unbalanced marriage. Can George and Lizzie survive an union on such unequal ground?
I'll confess that this book was not what I was expecting--I thought it was going to be a cheerful love story and a pick-me-up. It is a love story, though, all the same. George loves Lizzie. Lizzie, though, is lost in a love from the past. I'm not going to lie: Lizzie is a very frustrating character and a hard one for whom to care. She doesn't appreciate George, nor, really, much of her life. Now, she was truly saddled with terrible parents, so you have to grant her that. Her fixation on her past relationship makes you want to shake her, though.
"And because for years and years the voices in her head never let Lizzie forget that the Great Game had been a stupid idea right from the beginning and that she'd been an idiot for participating in it, her past was always there, a living thing. It shaped her present and future."
And of, of course, there is the Great Game--the event from high school which alters Lizzie's future. We can understand why Lizzie is Lizzie, but we can't always forgive her for her Lizzie type ways. Also, please note, there are a lot of football references in this book. A lot. I like football, but I'm not sure everyone who picks up a book like this will feel the same.
The story of George and Lizzie is told in very short vignettes (each with a title) that slowly move forward in time and alternate with Lizzie's past, mainly focusing on the Great Game, which so defined her life. This format takes much getting used to. There is no linear story here, but tiny bits and pieces of narrative from George and Lizzie. I almost abandoned the book when I first started--I couldn't get in the groove (and honestly, it's depressing). When I reluctantly returned to it a few days later, more prepared for the format, I could read it more easily.
In the end, I can't say I enjoyed this story. If I rated it purely on "like" factor, it would probably be a two-star read. Incorporating in Lizzie's life experiences and how a few things slowly grew on me, I'm giving this three stars, but only barely. (Also, I have real issues with how many kids from Lizzie's high school football team went on to the NFL. Maybe it's possible, but it seems insane.) 3 stars, but only eked out when they brought the chains out on the field to measure (too much?).
You can read more about the #atozchallenge here.
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In high school, Lizzie made a choice--one she soon regrets--participating in something called the Great Game. The event alters the course of her life forever, along with a passionate relationship that ends in college. These moments, plus the influence of Lizzie's psychologist parents, who offer her little support as a kid, turn her into a melancholy and unfulfilled adult. Her husband, George, however, comes from a happy childhood with loving parents. He adores his family and they him. He also worships Lizzie, giving the two an unbalanced marriage. Can George and Lizzie survive an union on such unequal ground?
I'll confess that this book was not what I was expecting--I thought it was going to be a cheerful love story and a pick-me-up. It is a love story, though, all the same. George loves Lizzie. Lizzie, though, is lost in a love from the past. I'm not going to lie: Lizzie is a very frustrating character and a hard one for whom to care. She doesn't appreciate George, nor, really, much of her life. Now, she was truly saddled with terrible parents, so you have to grant her that. Her fixation on her past relationship makes you want to shake her, though.
"And because for years and years the voices in her head never let Lizzie forget that the Great Game had been a stupid idea right from the beginning and that she'd been an idiot for participating in it, her past was always there, a living thing. It shaped her present and future."
And of, of course, there is the Great Game--the event from high school which alters Lizzie's future. We can understand why Lizzie is Lizzie, but we can't always forgive her for her Lizzie type ways. Also, please note, there are a lot of football references in this book. A lot. I like football, but I'm not sure everyone who picks up a book like this will feel the same.
The story of George and Lizzie is told in very short vignettes (each with a title) that slowly move forward in time and alternate with Lizzie's past, mainly focusing on the Great Game, which so defined her life. This format takes much getting used to. There is no linear story here, but tiny bits and pieces of narrative from George and Lizzie. I almost abandoned the book when I first started--I couldn't get in the groove (and honestly, it's depressing). When I reluctantly returned to it a few days later, more prepared for the format, I could read it more easily.
In the end, I can't say I enjoyed this story. If I rated it purely on "like" factor, it would probably be a two-star read. Incorporating in Lizzie's life experiences and how a few things slowly grew on me, I'm giving this three stars, but only barely. (Also, I have real issues with how many kids from Lizzie's high school football team went on to the NFL. Maybe it's possible, but it seems insane.) 3 stars, but only eked out when they brought the chains out on the field to measure (too much?).
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October 11, 2017
3.25 stars: “George & Lizzie” is a story about how youthful indiscretions can be defining and crippling events in a life. It’s also a story about growing up and moving on; it’s about forgiving yourself for being young and foolish.
The story begins with Lizzie meeting George while bowling. Lizzie was with her best friend and George was with a date. Lizzie inadvertently devastates George by wrecking his bowling game. Marla, Lizzies’ best friend obtains George’s phone number with a promise a get together drink to make up for ruining his game. Both forget the event.
Next, the reader learns of Lizzie’s past. It’s starts with the youthful indiscretion. Author Nancy Pearl formats her story with Lizzie’s history and Lizzie’s current relationships up to when she finally decides to call George.
Their unlikely attraction is mostly due to George and his undying optimism. He sees something in Lizzie that he finds fascinating. Meanwhile, Lizzie sees George as amusing, but she still pines for a boy she knew for three months her Freshman college year.
Lizzie is a character that any of us could know (and hopefully are not). That person from High School who did something stupid and just can’t shake it and all events of their lives from thereafter are shadowed by this stupid event. And the person who pines for their first youthful love; It’s that person who dumped them in high school or in college and they just can’t stop thinking of them. Yes, Lizzie is a cautionary tail, yet she’s human.
This isn’t a story of a marriage per say. It’s more of a story of attraction and marriage in spite of the baggage of youth. It’s also a tribute to those beautiful souls out there, like George, who see beauty in damaged people. I enjoyed this novel. It made me laugh out loud and cringe at the same time. Poor Lizzie, I think we all have moments when we are our own worse enemy. Shake it off people!!!
The story begins with Lizzie meeting George while bowling. Lizzie was with her best friend and George was with a date. Lizzie inadvertently devastates George by wrecking his bowling game. Marla, Lizzies’ best friend obtains George’s phone number with a promise a get together drink to make up for ruining his game. Both forget the event.
Next, the reader learns of Lizzie’s past. It’s starts with the youthful indiscretion. Author Nancy Pearl formats her story with Lizzie’s history and Lizzie’s current relationships up to when she finally decides to call George.
Their unlikely attraction is mostly due to George and his undying optimism. He sees something in Lizzie that he finds fascinating. Meanwhile, Lizzie sees George as amusing, but she still pines for a boy she knew for three months her Freshman college year.
Lizzie is a character that any of us could know (and hopefully are not). That person from High School who did something stupid and just can’t shake it and all events of their lives from thereafter are shadowed by this stupid event. And the person who pines for their first youthful love; It’s that person who dumped them in high school or in college and they just can’t stop thinking of them. Yes, Lizzie is a cautionary tail, yet she’s human.
This isn’t a story of a marriage per say. It’s more of a story of attraction and marriage in spite of the baggage of youth. It’s also a tribute to those beautiful souls out there, like George, who see beauty in damaged people. I enjoyed this novel. It made me laugh out loud and cringe at the same time. Poor Lizzie, I think we all have moments when we are our own worse enemy. Shake it off people!!!
September 25, 2017
In her debut novel, Nancy Pearl tells the story of a marriage. It was beyond me why Lizzie and George got married in the first place and it remained a mystery to me why they stayed together. I have the feeling I kind of missed the point of this story. The main focus is on Lizzie. George, in my opinion, remained a bit of an underdeveloped character. While George stems from a supportive, loving family, Lizzie grew up as the only daughter of two behavioral psychologists who regarded her childhood and youth as research material for their work. In high school Lizzie does something that keeps haunting her for years to come (another thing I didn’t understand. I would have just filed it under stupid adolescent ideas best to forget). The story keeps jumping back and forth in time and is interlaced with little vignettes about secondary characters relating to Lizzie’s high school escapades. While I got used to the nonlinear story line, I failed to see the point of the vignettes. I don’t think they added anything significant to the book, but they weren’t particularly distracting either. I think this is where Pearl’s writing came in. I enjoyed her style and liked the underlying wit and this was certainly different from your standard relationship story.
Overall, a bit of a mixed bag which improved as the story progressed. Some humor, some emotions, and I liked the ending. But ultimately, I found it difficult to comprehend Lizzie’s behavior and her thought processes, and just blaming it on her messed up childhood/youth and unsupportive parents didn’t work for me either. Perhaps an interesting pick as a discussion book. I would imagine there be plenty of different views about Lizzie and George and their families and friends.
I received an ARC via NetGalley.
Overall, a bit of a mixed bag which improved as the story progressed. Some humor, some emotions, and I liked the ending. But ultimately, I found it difficult to comprehend Lizzie’s behavior and her thought processes, and just blaming it on her messed up childhood/youth and unsupportive parents didn’t work for me either. Perhaps an interesting pick as a discussion book. I would imagine there be plenty of different views about Lizzie and George and their families and friends.
I received an ARC via NetGalley.
June 12, 2017
Immensely satisfying read. Vivid characters. Often funny, sometimes sad, this is, ultimately, a deeply resonate novel of love and relationships. Helps if you, like me, love football.
January 27, 2020
This book was annoying on so many different levels. I will try to be brief (mostly because I don't want to waste any more time on it).
First, the editing was horrendous. Besides several missed words throughout (just silly things like "she went library" instead of "she went TO THE library"), there were huge problems with the timeline. Anytime an author jumps around in a book, my very precise brain starts trying to keep track and double checking to confirm timelines. I know that this is MY issue, not the author's, but it is really distracting when they are not accurate. The first problem was between pages 65 and 70; the description is of Mendel and Lydia's early life. Pearl mentions both that the Bultmanns had many students work on the house over the years and that in the early years they had little money and so had to rely on the labor of grad students, but that the dean put a stop to such behavior by the time Lizzie was three and so Lydia hired Sheila at the supermarket. Hmmm....how does Lydia remember this troupe of house-fixer-uppers if she was three when it ended? And, what early years (vs later years) is Pearl referring to since the wedding happened after Lydia was pregnant (so within 4 years of the hiring of Sheila) and they moved into the house AFTER Lizzie's birth (so less than 3 years from Sheila's introduction). Essentially Pearl describes the grad student labor-theft events as if they went on for 5-10 years, but in essence they could have only been about 2 years long. Another example of this slopping editing was the use of "quarters". College runs on semesters, not quarters. Finally, on their first date Lizzie is amazed that George drinks iced tea in winter and discovers that Elaine instilled a love of tea in him. Later, George's alphabetized list of differences includes that he does not drink tea, but Lizzie does.
Second, I am also reading things about attachment disorder and trauma and was rather annoyed with Pearl's flippant implications and description of Lizzie. Essentially she criticizes Mendel and Lydia for not attaching to their child and implies that Lizzie's inability to really love George comes out of this. She also sets up that Lizzie sort of "imprinted" on Jack and then his abandonment of her furthered Lizzie's inability to attach to George. This is all rather simplistic and unrealistic. It was also flippant (oh yeah, there are mean voices in Lizzie's head that tell her she is awful). Yes, some of these characteristics are authentic and yes, these are real issues, but Pearl's handling of them felt so disrespectful. She paints Lizzie as "depressed", but she comes across as a spoiled brat, rather than someone who has any actual mental health issues.
Third, I was so over the top offended by the Great Game and its implications. It starts off as as a "fun game" full of feminine empowerment (why can't women play the field and then brag about it later?). Yes, it became pathetic BECAUSE Andrea refused to participate and then Lizzie was alone. Anything we do alone can become lonely and certainly the acquisition of sexual partners simply to fulfill a list (rather than for any enjoyment or sense of connection) is sad and pathetic. HOWEVER, this is not what Pearl portrayed. Lizzie did not become sad and withdrawn because she had no friends or anyone with whom to share her life. She became sad and withdrawn because she was slut shamed. And I fundamentally disagree with slut shaming (in general) and was offended that Pearl's big insight here seems to be, "don't sleep around girls or it will fuck up your life".
Fourth, I could absolutely not understand why Lydia didn't have an abortion. I realize that we wouldn't have a book if Lizzie wasn't born, but Lydia was a professional woman who had no interest in having a kid. She also was rather particular in her habits (so wouldn't she and Mendel have been using birth control?). There needed to be some discussion or acknowledgement about why Lydia and Mendel even had Lizzie. Maybe they did want her in the beginning, thinking she would be a great human lab rat, but then found out she was too much work?
Fifth, the Ann Arbor high school football team class of 1992 is the biggest group of success stories known to man. There were a few losers (buy only ones that had ironic names like Dandy), but at least three of them (I lost count after that) went on to NFL careers, several were on TV as actors/newscasters, and one was a successful movie writer. Really? I mean certainly, over a course of 20 years or so a high school might spit out several famous-ish people but in one graduating class? Not a fucking chance.
I have many other minor issues, but overall the book was just garbage. It is a 3-4 hour read that took me almost a week to get through, is full of annoying stereotypical trope rather than real insight, and should have had another round of editing before it was published. I would not recommend to anyone.
First, the editing was horrendous. Besides several missed words throughout (just silly things like "she went library" instead of "she went TO THE library"), there were huge problems with the timeline. Anytime an author jumps around in a book, my very precise brain starts trying to keep track and double checking to confirm timelines. I know that this is MY issue, not the author's, but it is really distracting when they are not accurate. The first problem was between pages 65 and 70; the description is of Mendel and Lydia's early life. Pearl mentions both that the Bultmanns had many students work on the house over the years and that in the early years they had little money and so had to rely on the labor of grad students, but that the dean put a stop to such behavior by the time Lizzie was three and so Lydia hired Sheila at the supermarket. Hmmm....how does Lydia remember this troupe of house-fixer-uppers if she was three when it ended? And, what early years (vs later years) is Pearl referring to since the wedding happened after Lydia was pregnant (so within 4 years of the hiring of Sheila) and they moved into the house AFTER Lizzie's birth (so less than 3 years from Sheila's introduction). Essentially Pearl describes the grad student labor-theft events as if they went on for 5-10 years, but in essence they could have only been about 2 years long. Another example of this slopping editing was the use of "quarters". College runs on semesters, not quarters. Finally, on their first date Lizzie is amazed that George drinks iced tea in winter and discovers that Elaine instilled a love of tea in him. Later, George's alphabetized list of differences includes that he does not drink tea, but Lizzie does.
Second, I am also reading things about attachment disorder and trauma and was rather annoyed with Pearl's flippant implications and description of Lizzie. Essentially she criticizes Mendel and Lydia for not attaching to their child and implies that Lizzie's inability to really love George comes out of this. She also sets up that Lizzie sort of "imprinted" on Jack and then his abandonment of her furthered Lizzie's inability to attach to George. This is all rather simplistic and unrealistic. It was also flippant (oh yeah, there are mean voices in Lizzie's head that tell her she is awful). Yes, some of these characteristics are authentic and yes, these are real issues, but Pearl's handling of them felt so disrespectful. She paints Lizzie as "depressed", but she comes across as a spoiled brat, rather than someone who has any actual mental health issues.
Third, I was so over the top offended by the Great Game and its implications. It starts off as as a "fun game" full of feminine empowerment (why can't women play the field and then brag about it later?). Yes, it became pathetic BECAUSE Andrea refused to participate and then Lizzie was alone. Anything we do alone can become lonely and certainly the acquisition of sexual partners simply to fulfill a list (rather than for any enjoyment or sense of connection) is sad and pathetic. HOWEVER, this is not what Pearl portrayed. Lizzie did not become sad and withdrawn because she had no friends or anyone with whom to share her life. She became sad and withdrawn because she was slut shamed. And I fundamentally disagree with slut shaming (in general) and was offended that Pearl's big insight here seems to be, "don't sleep around girls or it will fuck up your life".
Fourth, I could absolutely not understand why Lydia didn't have an abortion. I realize that we wouldn't have a book if Lizzie wasn't born, but Lydia was a professional woman who had no interest in having a kid. She also was rather particular in her habits (so wouldn't she and Mendel have been using birth control?). There needed to be some discussion or acknowledgement about why Lydia and Mendel even had Lizzie. Maybe they did want her in the beginning, thinking she would be a great human lab rat, but then found out she was too much work?
Fifth, the Ann Arbor high school football team class of 1992 is the biggest group of success stories known to man. There were a few losers (buy only ones that had ironic names like Dandy), but at least three of them (I lost count after that) went on to NFL careers, several were on TV as actors/newscasters, and one was a successful movie writer. Really? I mean certainly, over a course of 20 years or so a high school might spit out several famous-ish people but in one graduating class? Not a fucking chance.
I have many other minor issues, but overall the book was just garbage. It is a 3-4 hour read that took me almost a week to get through, is full of annoying stereotypical trope rather than real insight, and should have had another round of editing before it was published. I would not recommend to anyone.
November 26, 2017
Nancy Pearl is a well known librarian who lives in Seattle and this is her first novel. I have to say I'm not wowed by this book. Lizzie is just not very likable but I did enjoy George quite a bit.
It's well written and moving at parts but I can't really recommend it highly. Hopefully her next book will be better.
It's well written and moving at parts but I can't really recommend it highly. Hopefully her next book will be better.
January 26, 2018
Lizzie is flawed, scared and never optimistic about life in any way. Most of her viewpoints on life she learned as a child from her brilliant but totally disconnected parents. Oh they all lived in the same house, but it could've been different planets. Lizzie's parents, as behavioral psychiatrists, only cared about each other and their work together. Lizzie had been an accident and they viewed her as an inconvenience.
This would be a great choice as a Book Club selection since there are some moral dilemmas involved and plenty of events for potential discussions on Lizzie's behaviors and reasons she acts as she does.
She's haunted by memories of some serious and stupid mistakes she made as a senior in high school by sleeping with most of the football team. Her best friend at the time called it, "The Game," one problem was that Lizzie's friend backed out, but Lizzie kept on. All her adult life she doesn't understand why she did it, and she hates herself for having done it. So her perception of herself is how she sees life and how she thinks everyone sees her. "How can anyone possibly like her, let alone love her," she thinks.
Her roommate from college, Marla, is the only real friend Lizzie has, and she knows everything about her, as does Marla's boyfriend James. Luckily, they're also her roommates after college. Both were there when the other traumatic event occurred in Lizzie's life: her brief relationship with Jack, a senior at their college while Lizzie was a sophomore. Lizzie was convinced they were in love while they were probably just in lust, given the constant amount of sex they had; and as such relationships go, things were fine until Lizzie told him about the "GAME." Lizzie was devastated when Jack did not return to college. To her this proved she was unlovable.
I don't want to tell the entire story, but Lizzie does meet someone who really does love her, even though it takes a long time for her to believe it. This guy, George, has a real family that likes Lizzie too. She's a tough person to love but eventually she gives love too.
I really liked this book and understand what Nancy Pearl is trying to tell us, I hope! Lots of bitting humor too.
This would be a great choice as a Book Club selection since there are some moral dilemmas involved and plenty of events for potential discussions on Lizzie's behaviors and reasons she acts as she does.
She's haunted by memories of some serious and stupid mistakes she made as a senior in high school by sleeping with most of the football team. Her best friend at the time called it, "The Game," one problem was that Lizzie's friend backed out, but Lizzie kept on. All her adult life she doesn't understand why she did it, and she hates herself for having done it. So her perception of herself is how she sees life and how she thinks everyone sees her. "How can anyone possibly like her, let alone love her," she thinks.
Her roommate from college, Marla, is the only real friend Lizzie has, and she knows everything about her, as does Marla's boyfriend James. Luckily, they're also her roommates after college. Both were there when the other traumatic event occurred in Lizzie's life: her brief relationship with Jack, a senior at their college while Lizzie was a sophomore. Lizzie was convinced they were in love while they were probably just in lust, given the constant amount of sex they had; and as such relationships go, things were fine until Lizzie told him about the "GAME." Lizzie was devastated when Jack did not return to college. To her this proved she was unlovable.
I don't want to tell the entire story, but Lizzie does meet someone who really does love her, even though it takes a long time for her to believe it. This guy, George, has a real family that likes Lizzie too. She's a tough person to love but eventually she gives love too.
I really liked this book and understand what Nancy Pearl is trying to tell us, I hope! Lots of bitting humor too.
August 17, 2017
George and Lizzie are a couple (although they don't become a couple until about half-way through the book), but this focuses very much on Lizzie. I expected something of an examination of their relationship, but instead I became increasingly bothered as I read.
June 13, 2017
Broadly, it's a love/relationship story. At the core of the story is Lizzie's unhappiness, which stems from being the only child of aloof, closed-off parents-- both psychologists who only saw her objectively as a case study. She feels unloved. Maybe she's pretty messed up? This could explain why, as a senior in high school, Lizzie decides that her goal will be ; which creates problems for her, naturally.
I thought Lizzie was interesting, and almost wished the story would revolve around "The Great Game," (see spoiler), because c'mon, that is a story in itself. But there was actually very little about that.
This could have been an entirely different book--a brooding one that explores the damage of being a child of indifferent parents; but although Lizzie is unhappy most of the time, the overall tone is peppy. She gets her heart broken, but the tone doesn't get emotional or bittersweet, the only time I felt her sadness was she writes out her feelings in a fake letter to the guy she loves.
The timeline skips all around, back and forth, and the focus bounces from character to character, with little tid-bits of their back stories.
The beginning was very busy, a bunch of characters were presented without introduction, and it seemed to belong further back, in the middle first half of the book. It jumped right into Lizzie's depression over the breakup, but it was a weird place to start and then back track from there.
Overall, I enjoyed.
I thought Lizzie was interesting, and almost wished the story would revolve around "The Great Game," (see spoiler), because c'mon, that is a story in itself. But there was actually very little about that.
This could have been an entirely different book--a brooding one that explores the damage of being a child of indifferent parents; but although Lizzie is unhappy most of the time, the overall tone is peppy. She gets her heart broken, but the tone doesn't get emotional or bittersweet, the only time I felt her sadness was she writes out her feelings in a fake letter to the guy she loves.
The timeline skips all around, back and forth, and the focus bounces from character to character, with little tid-bits of their back stories.
The beginning was very busy, a bunch of characters were presented without introduction, and it seemed to belong further back, in the middle first half of the book. It jumped right into Lizzie's depression over the breakup, but it was a weird place to start and then back track from there.
Overall, I enjoyed.
November 13, 2017
I tried really hard to like it, because, come on, it's NANCY PEARL! But I just couldn't--the writing was stilted and self-conscious and there was far too much telling and far too little showing.
September 3, 2017
So it took me a long time to get into this book, and for most of it, my rating would have been 2 or 3 stars. I don't care for Lizzie, and she only slightly grew on me over time. When I was younger and single, it used to really piss me off to see really high-maintenance women end up with the nice guys, who were solid, treated them well, and put up with their mistreatment. (Now that I have one of those guys, and age and life has made me more high-maintenance than I used to be, maybe I don't mind as much as I used to.) But as the book progressed and the damage done to her by her parents was revealed, I sympathized with her more. I'm still not sure about what we're supposed to make of her high school experiment, and whether we're supposed to believe she was permanently scarred by that too, which is why I would have given this book a lower rating. But I liked the ending and the story line itself (even though it was based in Ann Arbor) and so it grew enough on me to warrant the 4-star rating. This author should both keep her day job (for NPR) and keep writing (because she's decent at it.)
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
July 10, 2017
”George & Lizzie” by Nancy Pearl, published by Touchstone Books.
Category – Fiction/Literature Publication Date – September 05, 2017.
If you are looking for something unusual and different in your reading this may be the book for you.
Lizzie was an unwelcome addition to her parents who were psychologists and who were totally absorbed in their work, in fact so totally that instead of fostering Lizzie she became a subject of their work.
Lizzie and her high school girlfriend decide that they are going to have sex with the entire football team, one taking the offense team and the other the defensive team. When her girl friend backs out Lizzie decides to do the entire team herself.
Later in life when Lizzie marries George she finds that he has come from a very loving and caring home, quite the contrast of her life. Lizzie believes something is missing in her life, quite possibly an old boyfriend that she still feels she is in love with.
Both their lives come crashing together as they reach a crossroads in their life and marriage.
An excellent read of two different lives converging that ends with Lizzie making a life changing decision.
Category – Fiction/Literature Publication Date – September 05, 2017.
If you are looking for something unusual and different in your reading this may be the book for you.
Lizzie was an unwelcome addition to her parents who were psychologists and who were totally absorbed in their work, in fact so totally that instead of fostering Lizzie she became a subject of their work.
Lizzie and her high school girlfriend decide that they are going to have sex with the entire football team, one taking the offense team and the other the defensive team. When her girl friend backs out Lizzie decides to do the entire team herself.
Later in life when Lizzie marries George she finds that he has come from a very loving and caring home, quite the contrast of her life. Lizzie believes something is missing in her life, quite possibly an old boyfriend that she still feels she is in love with.
Both their lives come crashing together as they reach a crossroads in their life and marriage.
An excellent read of two different lives converging that ends with Lizzie making a life changing decision.
February 4, 2018
I thought after reading the first 60 or so pages that I might not finish this book. I thought it a bit repetitive and depressing and the main character Lizzie, emotionally damaged and self absorbed. But I hung with it...even though I thought the parts about her Great Game football players could have been written in a once and done chapter . I like the character George and his parents and was hopeful at this point in the story that Lizzie could be saved. I'm giving this book a solid 3 rating. I liked that Lizzie eventually grew into her relationships and matured and finally realized she had people in her life who loved her and people she loved .
July 15, 2017
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
George and Lizzie have completely different understandings of what love and marriage should be. George grew up in a warm and loving family—while Lizzie grew up as the only child of two famous psychologists, who viewed her more as an in-house experiment than a child to love.
The characters are recognizable, quirky, witty and fun. Helps if you like football. overall ok.
George and Lizzie have completely different understandings of what love and marriage should be. George grew up in a warm and loving family—while Lizzie grew up as the only child of two famous psychologists, who viewed her more as an in-house experiment than a child to love.
The characters are recognizable, quirky, witty and fun. Helps if you like football. overall ok.
January 31, 2019
Ok, I know I'm biased because this was written by one of my favorite people on planet Earth, Nancy Pearl, BUT I must tell you that I truly adored this book. It is fresh and original and the characters are just so alive. I wanted to variously hug, laugh with, and throttle them both throughout the book. And at the end I was so sad to let them go, wondering all day today what happened to them next.
July 7, 2025
I was excited to see the author of this book is Nancy Pearl - someone I admire. There are funny and clever references, situations and descriptions. I'm 73 and I found familiar references that could be missed or under-appreciated by younger readers. I'm also a Seattleite, and though Seattle plays a small role, I like supporting a Seattle author. NOTE: The audio book is ready by the author.
February 16, 2019
America's Librarian Nancy Pearl can do no wrong. I loved the vignettes of the characters' lives and memories and perspectives. Poor, sad Lizzie. Thank goodness for George, a total angel.
Bonus points for featuring my hometown of Stillwater, Okla.
Bonus points for featuring my hometown of Stillwater, Okla.
January 18, 2018
I ended up loving this book..started out odd but ended up loving it. I would get so mad at Lizzie and just fell in love with George. What a guy..so patient with Lizzie and really got life. Sometimes we have unreasonable expectations of happiness. We don't get what we want all the time but it is how we respond to that. React or respond. You can train yourself to respond "skillfully". Simply experience the unpleasantness and let it go. Let it naturally pass away and then greet the next moment in your life with no trace of the last. In George's world refused to see them as tragedies..in his world no bad choices or wrong turns..each was an "opportunity for growth" which would come if you were able to respond "skillfully" to events as they occurred. These things would not be so terrible if we thought about them differently. Lizzie at a crossroads..so weighted down with bad memories. She needs to forgive herself. Her parents did not help..not successful at showing they loved her. She finally figured it out that she could belive in the possibility of happiness by giving up Jack. I loved loved George..he loved Lizzie despite everything she was, or had said, or done. In this book so much food for thought..need to really focus on that opportunities for growth especially with this parenting gig.
May 24, 2018
I think it is fairly common in the course of a lifetime for a person to do something that they later regret. Sometimes it’s a large action and sometimes it’s small, but no matter the size, the person has to live with the consequences ever after. If this statement resonates with you, you might enjoy George and Lizzie, even though it has an unsettling premise. In the book Lizzie makes a decision in high school to sleep with every starter on the school’s football team, all 23 guys. It seems like a lark at the time but ends up an albatross instead. Part of the reason she did it was to get the attention of her parents, psychologists both, who treat her as a science experiment, not like a beloved child. A second defining experience in Lizzie’s life is falling in love with and getting dumped by Jack. Add it all together and she is not a happy person. George enters the story at this point. He knows none of this but he falls in love with her and wants to bring sunshine to her life. With all these ingredients this book has lots to discuss: romantic love vs a more practical love (for lack of better terms); the effect of parents on their children; and of course, choosing – or not choosing – to let defining moments define you. Lizzie also has a good friend, Marla, who has her own big secret, her own brand of love, her own parents with whom to deal, and her own choice about defining moments in life. The juxtaposition of the two lives – and other lives in the book – is wonderful as is the book itself. Five stars!
December 8, 2021
📚 Hello Book Friends! GEORGE & LIZZIE by Nancy Pearl has such a cute book cover, but the story is not as cute. It is actually quite intense and poignant. The story is about Lizzie and her obsession with an ex-boyfriend, Jack, and how it defined her life and her marriage with George. Lizzie is broken and is unable to move on with her life. I sympathized with George the entire book and it was hard to like Lizzie. Fortunately, the end was good and made up for the moments I wanted to give up on this book.
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December 24, 2018
The author, Nancy Pearl, is my Library idol. Specialising in readers’ advising, she has taught me so much that I use constantly in my everyday work. I was lucky enough to attend one of her lectures (thank you SLV, please get your funding for this reinstated) and she was so informative and entertaining. This book is well-written but so narrow in its context that I was disappointed. It didn’t really go far. In fact, I thought it covered a much longer period of time but in fact it was only about ten years. Lizzie hears negative voices which impact on the way she feels about herself. She is grumpy and clings onto her past experiences even when she meets George, the most unbelievably nice person. There is a resolution, of sorts, at the end.
October 11, 2017
It's not often that an author can make you care deeply for a deeply flawed character like Lizzie but Nancy Pearl does it in an exceptionally empathetic way.....ah...her horrid parents.
Combined with saucy literary references, contextualized family histories, and an unmistakable charm, this book is simply good. Especially good for those who like football players, English literature and those who may have had their heart broken.
Of course I recommend it.
Combined with saucy literary references, contextualized family histories, and an unmistakable charm, this book is simply good. Especially good for those who like football players, English literature and those who may have had their heart broken.
Of course I recommend it.
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