A VIRTUOUS LIE

by Sam Halpern

Devon Emmanuel is a talented writer known for his journalistic integrity. He is also disillusioned with life. He works for a venerable New York magazine struggling to stay afloat by attracting a wealthy dowager interested in women's issues. She is hesitant to invest in the company because it isn't sufficiently oriented toward women.
Suddenly the magazine gets a call from Alessandra Gittleman, a woman who has spent thirty-eight years as an attorney for low-income women in Los Angeles. She's brilliant, funny, fashionable and can still gather herself into an alluring vision. Beloved by her clients, feared by authorities, she is celebrated, notorious and a woman of mystery. A stupendous piece on Gittleman might just save the magazine.
Devon's editor tells him before he leaves for Los Angeles, "Above all, get Alessandra's personal story." Devon encounters a wily, manipulative woman whose efforts to control the interview kindle his resolve to expose the mystery he's sure she's hiding. After the story is published, he is shocked by what he discovers. While exploring Alessandra's life, however, Devon reclaims his own passion for life.

278 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2018

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sam Halpern was going to be a guest at my daughter's bookclub and I was invited. Since it's always fun to talk to an author, I got my copy of A Virtuous Lie to prepare. The story follows talented writer Devon Emmanuel as he executes an interview with the reclusive Alessandra Gittleman, a Los Angeles lawyer working for the rights of low income women. Her unexpected invitation for the interview may be just what Emmanuel's magazine needs to stay afloat if he can paint a compelling enough portrait of this woman. He needs the personal story of her life to accomplish this; she wants to steer him away from that to the focus of her work with poor women in hopes of attracting more funding.


The story is an interesting one on many levels. However, for me, the writing did not shepherd the story to its full potential. My main resistance was to Halpern's execution was what I call "preaching" by an author - lecturing me as a reader about the plight of poor women. I like authors who use a story to show me how the system fails these women. Halpern used Alessandra's dialogue to do a little too much lecturing.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book “A Virtuous Lie”. It was complicated and the characters were very well developed. It turned out to be an intimate love story that you never suspected. it was extremely well written and poignant with lots of surprises.I had trouble putting it down once I got past the first couple of chapters. I would recommend it to anyone who loves to read, and the art of storytelling