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Early Morning Riser
Katherine Heiny, author of the hugely beloved Standard Deviation, returns with an eccentric, warm and hilarious new novel.
Jane easily falls in love with Duncan: he's charming, good-natured, and handsome. He has also slept with nearly every woman in Boyne City, Michigan.
Jane sees Duncan's old girlfriends everywhere – at restaurants, at the grocery store, even three towns away. While she may be able to come to terms with dating the world's most prolific seducer of women, she wishes she didn't have to share him quite so widely. His ex-wife, Aggie, still has Duncan mow her lawn. And his coworker Jimmy comes and goes from Duncan's apartment at the most inopportune times. Jane wonders how the relationship is supposed to work with all these people in it. But when tragedy unexpectedly tears through that shared life and relationship, Jane’s life will become permanently entwined not just with Duncan (no matter what, she can never have Duncan to herself) but Aggie and Jimmy and seemingly all of Boyne City. But maybe she can find a happiness in that; a happiness all of her own.
A novel that is alternately bittersweet and laugh-out-loud funny, Early Morning Riser is Katherine Heiny's most astonishingly wonderful work to date.
Jane easily falls in love with Duncan: he's charming, good-natured, and handsome. He has also slept with nearly every woman in Boyne City, Michigan.
Jane sees Duncan's old girlfriends everywhere – at restaurants, at the grocery store, even three towns away. While she may be able to come to terms with dating the world's most prolific seducer of women, she wishes she didn't have to share him quite so widely. His ex-wife, Aggie, still has Duncan mow her lawn. And his coworker Jimmy comes and goes from Duncan's apartment at the most inopportune times. Jane wonders how the relationship is supposed to work with all these people in it. But when tragedy unexpectedly tears through that shared life and relationship, Jane’s life will become permanently entwined not just with Duncan (no matter what, she can never have Duncan to herself) but Aggie and Jimmy and seemingly all of Boyne City. But maybe she can find a happiness in that; a happiness all of her own.
A novel that is alternately bittersweet and laugh-out-loud funny, Early Morning Riser is Katherine Heiny's most astonishingly wonderful work to date.
336 pages, Paperback
First published April 13, 2021
1784 people are currently reading
49415 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Heiny
9 books846 followersKatherine Heiny's fiction has been published in The New Yorker, Ploughshares, Narrative,Glimmer Train, and many other places. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,921 reviews
April 5, 2021
Having loved Standard Deviation, I was looking forward with great anticipation to Katherine Heiny's latest novel, which brims with her trademark humour, warmth, and wit. Like another of my favourite writers, Elizabeth Strout, she captures the extraordinary in the ordinariness in her inspired characters, whilst revealing the heart of a small town American community, in this case, Boyne City in Michigan. 26 year old elementary teacher, Jane, meets, Duncan, in his early forties, within the first month of relocating for her new job when he arrives at her home after she has locked herself out. He is handsome, kind, and she falls for him hook, line and sinker, unaware initially that he has, it seems, slept with every woman in town. Everywhere she goes, she comes face to face with these women, with whom he manages mostly to remain on friendly terms. He even helps with mowing the lawn of his beautiful ex-wife, Aggie, and her second husband, Gary.
We follow Jane's life through almost two decades of her life, the class of children she teaches, and the ins and outs of her relationships with best friend, Frieda, a music teacher who is never to be seen without her mandolin, Duncan's work colleague, Jimmy, with his learning difficulties, the organising Aggie, who is a wonderful cook, and Gary. There are times Jane wishes that she and Duncan had more alone time with each other, and Aggie ignites resentment, fear, and all her inner insecurities. However, a tragedy and guilt is to shape her more expansive perception of what family is, whilst becoming a parent and raising two daughters, Glenn and the more challenging Patrice, and fostering a closer relationship with Aggie with its changing dynamics through the years.
Heiny's beautifully written prose is assured and confident, her vibrant and perceptive storytelling shines with its intelligence, tenderness, observations and humour that draws the reader skilfully into the small town world she creates, with her wide range of characters that feel authentic, idiosyncratic and imbued with their all too human flaws. My favourite character is Jimmy, a pivotal person who illustrates the emotional depth of Duncan's character, gelling the small circle of supportive friends more closely together, and provides Jane with the opportunity to come to terms with a more broader definition and understanding of what and who is family. This is a wonderfully joyful book and a sheer bliss of a reading experience, of life, love, loss, family, friendship and community that will appeal to so many readers. Highly recommended. Many thanks to HarperCollins 4th Estate for an ARC.
We follow Jane's life through almost two decades of her life, the class of children she teaches, and the ins and outs of her relationships with best friend, Frieda, a music teacher who is never to be seen without her mandolin, Duncan's work colleague, Jimmy, with his learning difficulties, the organising Aggie, who is a wonderful cook, and Gary. There are times Jane wishes that she and Duncan had more alone time with each other, and Aggie ignites resentment, fear, and all her inner insecurities. However, a tragedy and guilt is to shape her more expansive perception of what family is, whilst becoming a parent and raising two daughters, Glenn and the more challenging Patrice, and fostering a closer relationship with Aggie with its changing dynamics through the years.
Heiny's beautifully written prose is assured and confident, her vibrant and perceptive storytelling shines with its intelligence, tenderness, observations and humour that draws the reader skilfully into the small town world she creates, with her wide range of characters that feel authentic, idiosyncratic and imbued with their all too human flaws. My favourite character is Jimmy, a pivotal person who illustrates the emotional depth of Duncan's character, gelling the small circle of supportive friends more closely together, and provides Jane with the opportunity to come to terms with a more broader definition and understanding of what and who is family. This is a wonderfully joyful book and a sheer bliss of a reading experience, of life, love, loss, family, friendship and community that will appeal to so many readers. Highly recommended. Many thanks to HarperCollins 4th Estate for an ARC.
April 15, 2021
Loved, loved, loved it!
Early Morning Riser is a slim, 336-page book that took me longer than usual to read because I savored every word. Picking it up each night was like sliding into a bed made of clouds and floating on air. Comfortable… and comforting.
The novel is broken into seven parts, each a lengthy glimpse into the life of small-town elementary school teacher Jane in a given year starting in 2002 and ending in 2019. This style allows the author to go into great detail about Jane’s world, thoughts, and relationships over the span of two decades without turning the book into a doorstop.
While there is some tragedy, Early Morning Riser has a fairly low-stakes plot that falls somewhere between drama and uplit. I suppose “dramedy” is the descriptor that fits best. Remember that TV show “Northern Exposure?” It’s a little like that. Quirky characters, real-life situations portrayed in an honest way, and just good old-fashioned exceptional writing.
If you’re a reader that needs a compelling mystery to pull you through the pages of a book, this is probably not a great choice for you. But if you want to spend time in a gentle world at the end of a long day, this is the place.
My thanks goes to Katherine Heiny and 4th Estate / William Collins Books for the gifted advance copy via NetGalley to review. It’s been a pleasure.
Blog: www.confettibookshelf.com
IG: @confettibookshelf
Early Morning Riser is a slim, 336-page book that took me longer than usual to read because I savored every word. Picking it up each night was like sliding into a bed made of clouds and floating on air. Comfortable… and comforting.
The novel is broken into seven parts, each a lengthy glimpse into the life of small-town elementary school teacher Jane in a given year starting in 2002 and ending in 2019. This style allows the author to go into great detail about Jane’s world, thoughts, and relationships over the span of two decades without turning the book into a doorstop.
While there is some tragedy, Early Morning Riser has a fairly low-stakes plot that falls somewhere between drama and uplit. I suppose “dramedy” is the descriptor that fits best. Remember that TV show “Northern Exposure?” It’s a little like that. Quirky characters, real-life situations portrayed in an honest way, and just good old-fashioned exceptional writing.
If you’re a reader that needs a compelling mystery to pull you through the pages of a book, this is probably not a great choice for you. But if you want to spend time in a gentle world at the end of a long day, this is the place.
My thanks goes to Katherine Heiny and 4th Estate / William Collins Books for the gifted advance copy via NetGalley to review. It’s been a pleasure.
Blog: www.confettibookshelf.com
IG: @confettibookshelf
April 27, 2021
If you are looking for the perfect feel-good summer (or any season!) read, this is it!
I loved the author’s book Standard Deviation, and while this one doesn't have the same snarky humor, the overriding theme and excellent writing remains.
People are complicated, and life doesn’t always turns out in ways you anticipate. Families are messy, infuriating, quirky, lovely, they will drive you crazy one moment and give you moments of unexpected joy and contentment the next. Often we don’t value what is right in front of us.
None of this is new of course. Plenty of books have those themes and you may be tempted to pass this one by as yet another book with a tired trope. Don’t make this mistake!
What makes all the difference are the characters and the WAY the story is told. We follow Jane & Duncan, and all the people in their orbit, from 2002 to 2019. The emotions and the dialogue is realistic, and the characters are wise and funny. All are REAL, complicated, broken, chaotic….and I loved all of them. But their friend Jimmy who has developmental delays – oh my, he has my heart! ❤️
Can a marriage work with more than two people in it? It’s not what you think, and the answer is a resounding yes. Families aren't always conventional. Katherine Heiny writes with sensitivity and tenderness about that which makes us human and binds us together. The humor prevents it from becoming trite and maudlin. To paraphrase the popular show, Seinfeld, it’s a book about nothing, yet about so much.
I suggest spending some time with this one at a stretch in order to get into the rhythm of the story and get to know the characters. It is not one to read in short snippets. This is not a thrilling compulsive page-turner, it’s a quiet book that will take hold of your heart in unexpected ways and make you wish you were part of Jane & Duncan’s lives. I turned the last page with a smile on my face, and a lump in my throat.
I adore this author and will read anything she writes. Katherine Heiny is now firmly on my short list of authors who can write about the day-to-day ordinary life in an extraordinary way.
* I received a digital copy of this book via Edelweiss. All opinions are my own.
I loved the author’s book Standard Deviation, and while this one doesn't have the same snarky humor, the overriding theme and excellent writing remains.
People are complicated, and life doesn’t always turns out in ways you anticipate. Families are messy, infuriating, quirky, lovely, they will drive you crazy one moment and give you moments of unexpected joy and contentment the next. Often we don’t value what is right in front of us.
None of this is new of course. Plenty of books have those themes and you may be tempted to pass this one by as yet another book with a tired trope. Don’t make this mistake!
What makes all the difference are the characters and the WAY the story is told. We follow Jane & Duncan, and all the people in their orbit, from 2002 to 2019. The emotions and the dialogue is realistic, and the characters are wise and funny. All are REAL, complicated, broken, chaotic….and I loved all of them. But their friend Jimmy who has developmental delays – oh my, he has my heart! ❤️
Can a marriage work with more than two people in it? It’s not what you think, and the answer is a resounding yes. Families aren't always conventional. Katherine Heiny writes with sensitivity and tenderness about that which makes us human and binds us together. The humor prevents it from becoming trite and maudlin. To paraphrase the popular show, Seinfeld, it’s a book about nothing, yet about so much.
I suggest spending some time with this one at a stretch in order to get into the rhythm of the story and get to know the characters. It is not one to read in short snippets. This is not a thrilling compulsive page-turner, it’s a quiet book that will take hold of your heart in unexpected ways and make you wish you were part of Jane & Duncan’s lives. I turned the last page with a smile on my face, and a lump in my throat.
I adore this author and will read anything she writes. Katherine Heiny is now firmly on my short list of authors who can write about the day-to-day ordinary life in an extraordinary way.
* I received a digital copy of this book via Edelweiss. All opinions are my own.
April 21, 2021
I bought into the review hype and so I only have myself to blame. This was the most dull book about small life living people. If the characters were developed and felt like they had any depth, maybe it could be something worth reading. If the story included the big, messy bits instead of skipping ahead so the character could say “well that happened”, then it would begin to feel interesting. If the story was not set up in such simple, obvious ways, perhaps I would not think it was so lazy. The drama was entirely removed from any of the “plot” points. This is milquetoast. I know we are all fried and exhausted and experiencing stress in these pandemic times, but seriously.
May 27, 2021
⭐ 4.5 Simple Yet Wonderful Stars! ⭐
𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙍𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙧 is the story of Jane, through two decades, after she falls in love with a man with a big history in a small town.
Really that's almost the entire plot. It's not twisty or flashy.
It's heart is it's quirky characters in their day to day life and it's low-key, gentle humor.
There's a bit of drama and conflict but mostly it highlights how every day, even the bad ones! have moments to be treasured.
Yesterday afternoon I had a rare quiet hour while no one else was home so I made coffee, cut myself a piece of the strawberry cake that I had baked that morning and read a few chapters of this and it was all such BLISS! It was the peaceful time that I needed and this was the perfect book for it.
𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙍𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙧 is the story of Jane, through two decades, after she falls in love with a man with a big history in a small town.
Really that's almost the entire plot. It's not twisty or flashy.
It's heart is it's quirky characters in their day to day life and it's low-key, gentle humor.
There's a bit of drama and conflict but mostly it highlights how every day, even the bad ones! have moments to be treasured.
Yesterday afternoon I had a rare quiet hour while no one else was home so I made coffee, cut myself a piece of the strawberry cake that I had baked that morning and read a few chapters of this and it was all such BLISS! It was the peaceful time that I needed and this was the perfect book for it.
September 9, 2021
"Early Morning Riser" by Katherine Heiny captures 'ordinary life' at its best!
Jane is an elementary school teacher in Boyne City, Michigan who's in love with attractive, easy going Duncan. But, why does Jane have to share Duncan with so many people?
There's pretty and controlling ex-wife Aggie & her kooky husband Gary, who Duncan helps out with various household repairs and weekly lawn maintenance. Next, there's Duncan's co-worker Jimmy, who's a bit slow, needy and tends to pop-in at the worst times. Then, there are all the women in Boyne City and beyond from Duncan's romantic past who keep surfacing in too many places.
How is Jane's and Duncan's relationship ever going to work?
A bit dry to begin with but these unusual characters quickly grow on you. The wit and humor is subtle and as you read, you find yourself going from a smile to a chuckle to a laugh-out-loud moment. Told over a period of 17 years, much happens in the story that mostly circles around Jane and Duncan. Good things. Simple things. Ordinary things!
The author is an amazing storyteller as she often directs her characters to veer off course, mid-chapter, as they remember a related story from the past. Eventually she directs them back to the present and the current story line resumes. Such a creative way to give the reader layered backstories via the memories of these quirky and lovable characters!
Idiosyncrasies of small town life and lifelong friendships make an amazing combination. I would love to read more about these characters and their quiet, simple lives because I didn't want this book to end! Highly recommended!
Jane is an elementary school teacher in Boyne City, Michigan who's in love with attractive, easy going Duncan. But, why does Jane have to share Duncan with so many people?
There's pretty and controlling ex-wife Aggie & her kooky husband Gary, who Duncan helps out with various household repairs and weekly lawn maintenance. Next, there's Duncan's co-worker Jimmy, who's a bit slow, needy and tends to pop-in at the worst times. Then, there are all the women in Boyne City and beyond from Duncan's romantic past who keep surfacing in too many places.
How is Jane's and Duncan's relationship ever going to work?
A bit dry to begin with but these unusual characters quickly grow on you. The wit and humor is subtle and as you read, you find yourself going from a smile to a chuckle to a laugh-out-loud moment. Told over a period of 17 years, much happens in the story that mostly circles around Jane and Duncan. Good things. Simple things. Ordinary things!
The author is an amazing storyteller as she often directs her characters to veer off course, mid-chapter, as they remember a related story from the past. Eventually she directs them back to the present and the current story line resumes. Such a creative way to give the reader layered backstories via the memories of these quirky and lovable characters!
Idiosyncrasies of small town life and lifelong friendships make an amazing combination. I would love to read more about these characters and their quiet, simple lives because I didn't want this book to end! Highly recommended!
March 22, 2021
4.5 rounded up.
What a lovely book! This is the story of Jane, an infant school teacher and her family and friends from 2002 to the present day. The little vignettes of their lives at specific times works really well as we follow the changes.
This is a clever, well written book as it’s basically about normal life, about being human, focusing on family life and the meaning and depth of friendship and love. It’s heartwarming without being mushy, it’s life affirming, very astutely observed with dialogue that is wry, witty and authentic. It’s amusing in places as several characters come out with classic one liners. The characters are fantastic and well depicted so that you can visualise them. Jane thinks quite harshly of herself at times but she’s wonderful and incredibly kind especially to Jimmy who hangs the whole book together with his sweet, innocent and utterly guileless personality. Jimmy has learning difficulties and becomes an integral part of the family and friendship group and is much loved. He’s an absolute delight from start to finish. I hadn’t realised how utterly invested in his story I’d become until I felt tears in my eyes! All the characters are interesting from husband Duncan who has a reputation (deserved) as a ladies man, Jane’s mother Phyllis who is a tour de force, she makes you laugh with her forthrightness - a polite term for rude, her capable friend Aggie and her useless husband Gary. What were you thinking Aggie???? Jane’s children Glenn and Patrice provide some humour too, Patrice is a hilarious challenge and I’m so glad she’s not mine! The scenes in Jane’s classroom make me smile in recognition- every class has a Tad. Unfortunately!
Overall, a sweet, acutely observed, entertaining novel with wonderful characters which I recommend to fans of authors such as Anne Tyler.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to 4th Estate for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
What a lovely book! This is the story of Jane, an infant school teacher and her family and friends from 2002 to the present day. The little vignettes of their lives at specific times works really well as we follow the changes.
This is a clever, well written book as it’s basically about normal life, about being human, focusing on family life and the meaning and depth of friendship and love. It’s heartwarming without being mushy, it’s life affirming, very astutely observed with dialogue that is wry, witty and authentic. It’s amusing in places as several characters come out with classic one liners. The characters are fantastic and well depicted so that you can visualise them. Jane thinks quite harshly of herself at times but she’s wonderful and incredibly kind especially to Jimmy who hangs the whole book together with his sweet, innocent and utterly guileless personality. Jimmy has learning difficulties and becomes an integral part of the family and friendship group and is much loved. He’s an absolute delight from start to finish. I hadn’t realised how utterly invested in his story I’d become until I felt tears in my eyes! All the characters are interesting from husband Duncan who has a reputation (deserved) as a ladies man, Jane’s mother Phyllis who is a tour de force, she makes you laugh with her forthrightness - a polite term for rude, her capable friend Aggie and her useless husband Gary. What were you thinking Aggie???? Jane’s children Glenn and Patrice provide some humour too, Patrice is a hilarious challenge and I’m so glad she’s not mine! The scenes in Jane’s classroom make me smile in recognition- every class has a Tad. Unfortunately!
Overall, a sweet, acutely observed, entertaining novel with wonderful characters which I recommend to fans of authors such as Anne Tyler.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to 4th Estate for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
April 14, 2021
Audiobook...read by Kate Rudd . . . 10 hours and 11 minutes
Have you ever in your life wanted an interim relationship, If yes please do tell. This is a story I’d enjoy hearing about.
I thought it was so incredibly presumptuous that Duncan assumed Jane wanted an
interim relationship, because after all she was young, only 26 years of age, and Duncan was 40, clear he was never going to get married again, figured that Jane would look for somebody more serious when the time came—Duncan assumed he was an interim-boyfriend....
You know, just what Jane wanted...an older-aged-man-toy?/!
Ha.... not exactly!!!
With my silly confused mind
... I said to Paul (yeah, the husband I often talk about), last night....
“I don’t know one woman who wanted an ‘interim’ relationship”.....
THINGS TURNED FUNNY, with us....
Paul said, “sure, lots of people - men & women - just want fuck buddies”.....
I LAUGHED & LAUGHED....
Of course.....
then why didn’t our ‘Mr. Ladies-Hot Stuff’, Duncan
just say what he meant...the dipstick!
“of course Jane was just a fuck buddy”.....( her monogamous boyfriend)....
...Duncan was the dipstick
...Jane was the pretty, thrifty, new grammar school teacher in town.
So I thought....
From the beginning…we know it’s Jane who has the raw deal in their relationship with Hunky-Duncan, who has screwed every female in town and is in an active ongoing communicative/handyman relationship with his ex-wife.
The ex-wife, Aggie, has been married for 10 years, but it’s only been five years since she enjoyed her fuck buddy-hunky-Duncan herself.
but ex-wife Aggie and Duncan have finally stopped their ex-relationship hanky-panky....
so now when Hunky-Duncan comes over, he really does just mow the lawn and use his tools to repair anything —‘but Aggie’.
Enter Luke Armstrong...not Lance Armstrong
Take that buster-Duncan dipstick!
Luke Armstrong was the perfect marrying man.
Jane’s relationships happen quickly.
Wedding coming soon....
but not before a string of wedding arrangements to face...dinner with Luke’s parents....and her own exhausting mother ....
But as easy as this all sounds....
...regular people popping in and out of each other‘s houses and beds in the small community town in Boyne City, Michigan not far from Traverse City —(one of the most beautiful spots in United States in my opinion).....
comes a FUN- FUNNY - BITTERSWEET- CRAZY ENJOYABLE NOVEL ....
A group of nutty characters- you’ll miss when the novel ends.
Nothing is conventional!!
So, I ask you?
What’s the opposite of comfort food? Well that’s pretty easy…
Discomfort food!
Oh.... so many great laughs!!
And Duncan...?
Yep.... lol . . . He still a dipstick!
Have fun ....
Great timing for a little snazzy entertainment....
wouldn’t you say?
Have you ever in your life wanted an interim relationship, If yes please do tell. This is a story I’d enjoy hearing about.
I thought it was so incredibly presumptuous that Duncan assumed Jane wanted an
interim relationship, because after all she was young, only 26 years of age, and Duncan was 40, clear he was never going to get married again, figured that Jane would look for somebody more serious when the time came—Duncan assumed he was an interim-boyfriend....
You know, just what Jane wanted...an older-aged-man-toy?/!
Ha.... not exactly!!!
With my silly confused mind
... I said to Paul (yeah, the husband I often talk about), last night....
“I don’t know one woman who wanted an ‘interim’ relationship”.....
THINGS TURNED FUNNY, with us....
Paul said, “sure, lots of people - men & women - just want fuck buddies”.....
I LAUGHED & LAUGHED....
Of course.....
then why didn’t our ‘Mr. Ladies-Hot Stuff’, Duncan
just say what he meant...the dipstick!
“of course Jane was just a fuck buddy”.....( her monogamous boyfriend)....
...Duncan was the dipstick
...Jane was the pretty, thrifty, new grammar school teacher in town.
So I thought....
From the beginning…we know it’s Jane who has the raw deal in their relationship with Hunky-Duncan, who has screwed every female in town and is in an active ongoing communicative/handyman relationship with his ex-wife.
The ex-wife, Aggie, has been married for 10 years, but it’s only been five years since she enjoyed her fuck buddy-hunky-Duncan herself.
but ex-wife Aggie and Duncan have finally stopped their ex-relationship hanky-panky....
so now when Hunky-Duncan comes over, he really does just mow the lawn and use his tools to repair anything —‘but Aggie’.
Enter Luke Armstrong...not Lance Armstrong
Take that buster-Duncan dipstick!
Luke Armstrong was the perfect marrying man.
Jane’s relationships happen quickly.
Wedding coming soon....
but not before a string of wedding arrangements to face...dinner with Luke’s parents....and her own exhausting mother ....
But as easy as this all sounds....
...regular people popping in and out of each other‘s houses and beds in the small community town in Boyne City, Michigan not far from Traverse City —(one of the most beautiful spots in United States in my opinion).....
comes a FUN- FUNNY - BITTERSWEET- CRAZY ENJOYABLE NOVEL ....
A group of nutty characters- you’ll miss when the novel ends.
Nothing is conventional!!
So, I ask you?
What’s the opposite of comfort food? Well that’s pretty easy…
Discomfort food!
Oh.... so many great laughs!!
And Duncan...?
Yep.... lol . . . He still a dipstick!
Have fun ....
Great timing for a little snazzy entertainment....
wouldn’t you say?
June 26, 2021
The ❤️ Wants what the ❤️ Wants!
That is the ONLY way to explain why Jane wants Duncan.
He is charming and handsome but also unapologetic about having slept with nearly every woman in Boyne City, Michigan and several in neighboring towns.
Oh, and if that weren’t enough to endure, Jane will also have to socialize frequently with his ex-wife Aggie too- and he sees nothing wrong with that either!
Well, for me, the first would’ve been intolerable, and red flags would have been waving 🚩
AND, 👩🏼👨🏻👱🏻♀️ THREE is DEFINITELY a crowd!
I would have been MISERABLE living the life she chose, which is probably why I didn’t find it entertaining!
But, if you find her unconventional family weirdly wonderful, then you will feel differently!
I am so very HAPPY that so many of my Goodreads friends found so much joy from this book! 🥰
I wish I could’ve joined them, but sadly, it just didn’t resonate with me! 🤷🏻♀️
A buddy read with DeAnn so be sure to watch for her wonderful review! She may have felt much differently!
That is the ONLY way to explain why Jane wants Duncan.
He is charming and handsome but also unapologetic about having slept with nearly every woman in Boyne City, Michigan and several in neighboring towns.
Oh, and if that weren’t enough to endure, Jane will also have to socialize frequently with his ex-wife Aggie too- and he sees nothing wrong with that either!
Well, for me, the first would’ve been intolerable, and red flags would have been waving 🚩
AND, 👩🏼👨🏻👱🏻♀️ THREE is DEFINITELY a crowd!
I would have been MISERABLE living the life she chose, which is probably why I didn’t find it entertaining!
But, if you find her unconventional family weirdly wonderful, then you will feel differently!
I am so very HAPPY that so many of my Goodreads friends found so much joy from this book! 🥰
I wish I could’ve joined them, but sadly, it just didn’t resonate with me! 🤷🏻♀️
A buddy read with DeAnn so be sure to watch for her wonderful review! She may have felt much differently!
September 10, 2021
Honestly I got to this sentence on page eleven and wow, that’s a big no for me.
“This was not the night Jane got drunk enough to ask Frieda if it was true she hadn’t ever had sex with anyone, even a drunk migrant worker, but Jane felt strongly that such a night was in her future.”
Uh, even a drunk migrant worker what now?! Very much no thank you.
And then we get the part with the mentally retarded character? Confusing candy and EATING glass? What on actual earth NOPE.
And then this! OH WOW:
“Jane looked more closely at the woman and saw that it wasn’t accurate to say she was large. She had a wide face, which automatically made you assume she had a wide body, too, but in fact her figure was exceptional,”
WELL THANK GOD SHES NOT WIDE EVERYONE KNOWS A WIDE BODY ISNT EXCEPTIONAL BUT SHE ISNT WIDE BODIED FRIENDS HER TRICKY WIDE FACE JUST TRICKED US.
Not a large body! Not a wide body! Therefore! An exceptional body. Got it.
Just to be clear: in the Venn Diagram of Body Judging, wide/large and exceptional DO NOT INTERSECT.
EVEN A DRUNK MIGRANT WORKER.
What. On. Earth.
I would light a kindle on fire if I could.
“This was not the night Jane got drunk enough to ask Frieda if it was true she hadn’t ever had sex with anyone, even a drunk migrant worker, but Jane felt strongly that such a night was in her future.”
Uh, even a drunk migrant worker what now?! Very much no thank you.
And then we get the part with the mentally retarded character? Confusing candy and EATING glass? What on actual earth NOPE.
And then this! OH WOW:
“Jane looked more closely at the woman and saw that it wasn’t accurate to say she was large. She had a wide face, which automatically made you assume she had a wide body, too, but in fact her figure was exceptional,”
WELL THANK GOD SHES NOT WIDE EVERYONE KNOWS A WIDE BODY ISNT EXCEPTIONAL BUT SHE ISNT WIDE BODIED FRIENDS HER TRICKY WIDE FACE JUST TRICKED US.
Not a large body! Not a wide body! Therefore! An exceptional body. Got it.
Just to be clear: in the Venn Diagram of Body Judging, wide/large and exceptional DO NOT INTERSECT.
EVEN A DRUNK MIGRANT WORKER.
What. On. Earth.
I would light a kindle on fire if I could.
October 26, 2021
I really enjoyed this entertaining story about the nuances of relationships and complexities of life. While the tone is more subdued than that of Standard Deviation's, it makes up for it with the large cast of quirky and endearing characters. I'm going to miss these residents of Boyne City, Michigan!
In this character-driven story, the focus is on the value of friends and family. Through snippets of everyday life, we truly get to know and understand the characters and the intricacies of their relationships. Overall, this is an uplifting story full of hope, love, and happiness.
In this character-driven story, the focus is on the value of friends and family. Through snippets of everyday life, we truly get to know and understand the characters and the intricacies of their relationships. Overall, this is an uplifting story full of hope, love, and happiness.
October 7, 2021
I was a big fan of Standard Deviation. So, I was anxious to listen to Early Morning Riser. Once again, we get a book full of laugh out loud moments (especially if Gary or the second graders are involved) mixed with some incredibly sad scenes. This is a book that will make you love and hate. You’ll want to throw your arms around some characters and strangle others.
Jane moves to Boyle City, Michigan and starts teaching second grade. She begins to see Duncan. It’s a small town, but she’s surprised how many of the women in the town he’s had a relationship with. Three years later, she’s moved on to Luke and is getting married. And then life intervenes.
I adored Jane. She’s got a mother who has no filter. She uses the tricks she’s learned to corral second graders on adults, too. She takes on responsibility without whining. As her life gets more and more complex, I wanted to reach out and hug her. She just seemed that real. I also found Duncan an incredibly complex man. Kind hearted, a man that goes out of his way to help others, but clear about not wanting marriage.
This is one of those stories about families not necessarily being bound by blood. It’s about being decent and loving, even when you don’t really want to be. It will warm you.
Kate Rudd did a lovely job as the narrator.
Jane moves to Boyle City, Michigan and starts teaching second grade. She begins to see Duncan. It’s a small town, but she’s surprised how many of the women in the town he’s had a relationship with. Three years later, she’s moved on to Luke and is getting married. And then life intervenes.
I adored Jane. She’s got a mother who has no filter. She uses the tricks she’s learned to corral second graders on adults, too. She takes on responsibility without whining. As her life gets more and more complex, I wanted to reach out and hug her. She just seemed that real. I also found Duncan an incredibly complex man. Kind hearted, a man that goes out of his way to help others, but clear about not wanting marriage.
This is one of those stories about families not necessarily being bound by blood. It’s about being decent and loving, even when you don’t really want to be. It will warm you.
Kate Rudd did a lovely job as the narrator.
September 15, 2021
This was one of those lucky "right book at the right time" deals. Not my usual fare, but I sorely needed to shake off the dark, bleak, and grit of my last several books. This proved to be a refreshing palate cleanser. It put me in the mind of Anne Tyler, but a bit lighter. It was funny, endearing, and gave me a whole palette of characters to enjoy. Colorful and quirky, but not saccharin in any way. It just might have you doing cartwheels before it is over.
July 5, 2021
I loved Heiny's "Standard Deviations" and had high hopes for this one - but unfortunately it didn't gel for me. I liked the way Jane's life was marked by a collection of small moments and especially appreciated the understanding and warmth shown by all the characters to Jimmy. But I found the lighthearted tone more flippant than amusing and felt that Heiny just skimmed the surface of the characters. In fact, Jane and Duncan felt vacuous to me - like caricatures of real people.
June 2, 2021
3.5⭐
June is here! I can't think of a better way to welcome summer than to read some romance. I think this book will please many romcom readers, cozy fans, or those who enjoy family drama. This isn't too sweet, I enjoyed it.
Early Morning Riser has some unusual, but charming characters. Jane moves to a small town and meets a "Brawny paper towel" handsome woodworker, Duncan. Duncan's not only a hunk, but also easy going and charming. The downside? He's been been with just about every girl in town. Once again, small town. This was a fun and an "easy-listen" story. I did find the story dragged a notch after the second half. But overall fun, with laughs at the right places. Love and family.
June is here! I can't think of a better way to welcome summer than to read some romance. I think this book will please many romcom readers, cozy fans, or those who enjoy family drama. This isn't too sweet, I enjoyed it.
Early Morning Riser has some unusual, but charming characters. Jane moves to a small town and meets a "Brawny paper towel" handsome woodworker, Duncan. Duncan's not only a hunk, but also easy going and charming. The downside? He's been been with just about every girl in town. Once again, small town. This was a fun and an "easy-listen" story. I did find the story dragged a notch after the second half. But overall fun, with laughs at the right places. Love and family.
April 25, 2021
Even though I’ve had my rescue Australian Shepherd dog for four years now, my heart still bursts when I walk him and watch his little ears bouncing as he resolutely chugs along. And it bursts even more - like fully burst-cherry-tomato-pasta bursts - when I think of how shitty his first, pre-rescue year of life was, and how happy he at least seems to be now. Likewise, I felt like my heart was exploding the entire time reading this book from how good it was, and what types of themes it addresses, and how talented and unique (and funny!) an author Heiny is. Even now, just thinking about it, my inner organs feel like they’re rearranging themselves in an emotionally volatile but ultimately happy polka.
This is a book about moments like that that keep us all chugging along through the walk of life, how (as Aldous Huxley and many others have well said), we are not what happens to us; we are what we do with what happens to us. This is a book about the complicated beauty of (IRL, face to face) relationships and of created family, as well as the kind of family that makes you want to stomp your feet and holler (at any age), “I didn’t ask to be born!” It is a book about the wonder and unbeatable pleasures of the day-to-day, and how we need to remember to resolutely live only for those things that make our hearts cherry-tomato burst, and fuck all the rest of it!
Heiny is one of my favorite authors - and, as I’ll tell anyone who’ll listen, an author I got to hear at a local book festival, and she is a lovely human; if she were a Great Lake, she’d be Superior. I just feel like she captures interior life - what mine feels like anyway, or at least the interior life of anyone with some very basic sense of humor and humility - better than anyone I’ve read.
As an added bonus - I’d no idea of her Michigan connection, but this is where I grew up. And in a time when I, as a transplanted-to-the-East-Coast-er, am often surrounded by people content to glibly dismiss the entire US interior as a flyover zone, she welcomely captures the (it can be savage and breathtaking) beauty of northern Michigan, the qualities and quirks and nuances and humanity that Midwesterners can demonstrate at their very best, and how living in touch with four very distinct, but also often snowy seasons, largely at the mercy of the weather, and surrounded by awe-inspiring reminders of glaciation and geography and time and the relative tiny-ness and fragility of human life can all inspire a sense of necessary community and a kind of personal mindfulness and gratitude in the small things that really matter, long before these things were trends.
Five, Giant, Great Lakes-Shaped Stars.
Also, one quick note: as a native Michigander, I know our cool geography is unfortunately most misunderstood (seriously, check out the subreddit r/MapsWithoutUP), so I need to clarify. This book is *NOT* set in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan, but rather in Northern Lower Michigan - the part that looks like a mitten. [Which is also a peninsula - a landmass surrounded mostly by water, which is the first thing drilled into an elementary school Michi-gosling - but the Lower Peninsula is securely saddled to Ohio, which is a lot for any landmass to bear (lol sorry Buckeyes, love you!), whereas the UP is tethered to much less.] Hold out your right hand in front of you, put your fingers tightly together, and stick your thumb out to about 2 o’clock, and with this book we’re roughly talking about the part of the state around the edges of your ring finger between the pinky and middle finger. (This is by far the coolest perk of past or present Michigan residency, to be able to do this.) The UP is the other large part of Michigan, again often omitted from or incorrectly labeled in maps, that is above the entirety of the mitten part and looks kind of like a misshapen, westward-facing sleeping rabbit drawn by a child (this is actually sort of a controversy, what it looks like: the mitten part sets an unbeatably high standard), and does NOT belong to Canada or Wisconsin.
(While the UP is also savagely beautiful, like tear your eyes out with a fishhook beautiful, it is also its own whole vast and brave new world - an extremely distinct and different place and culture, worthy of its own awesome novels.)
Also: PopSugar 2021 Reading Challenge: A book with the same title as a song. Book Riot 2021 Read Harder Challenge #22: A book set in the Midwest.
This is a book about moments like that that keep us all chugging along through the walk of life, how (as Aldous Huxley and many others have well said), we are not what happens to us; we are what we do with what happens to us. This is a book about the complicated beauty of (IRL, face to face) relationships and of created family, as well as the kind of family that makes you want to stomp your feet and holler (at any age), “I didn’t ask to be born!” It is a book about the wonder and unbeatable pleasures of the day-to-day, and how we need to remember to resolutely live only for those things that make our hearts cherry-tomato burst, and fuck all the rest of it!
Heiny is one of my favorite authors - and, as I’ll tell anyone who’ll listen, an author I got to hear at a local book festival, and she is a lovely human; if she were a Great Lake, she’d be Superior. I just feel like she captures interior life - what mine feels like anyway, or at least the interior life of anyone with some very basic sense of humor and humility - better than anyone I’ve read.
As an added bonus - I’d no idea of her Michigan connection, but this is where I grew up. And in a time when I, as a transplanted-to-the-East-Coast-er, am often surrounded by people content to glibly dismiss the entire US interior as a flyover zone, she welcomely captures the (it can be savage and breathtaking) beauty of northern Michigan, the qualities and quirks and nuances and humanity that Midwesterners can demonstrate at their very best, and how living in touch with four very distinct, but also often snowy seasons, largely at the mercy of the weather, and surrounded by awe-inspiring reminders of glaciation and geography and time and the relative tiny-ness and fragility of human life can all inspire a sense of necessary community and a kind of personal mindfulness and gratitude in the small things that really matter, long before these things were trends.
Five, Giant, Great Lakes-Shaped Stars.
Also, one quick note: as a native Michigander, I know our cool geography is unfortunately most misunderstood (seriously, check out the subreddit r/MapsWithoutUP), so I need to clarify. This book is *NOT* set in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan, but rather in Northern Lower Michigan - the part that looks like a mitten. [Which is also a peninsula - a landmass surrounded mostly by water, which is the first thing drilled into an elementary school Michi-gosling - but the Lower Peninsula is securely saddled to Ohio, which is a lot for any landmass to bear (lol sorry Buckeyes, love you!), whereas the UP is tethered to much less.] Hold out your right hand in front of you, put your fingers tightly together, and stick your thumb out to about 2 o’clock, and with this book we’re roughly talking about the part of the state around the edges of your ring finger between the pinky and middle finger. (This is by far the coolest perk of past or present Michigan residency, to be able to do this.) The UP is the other large part of Michigan, again often omitted from or incorrectly labeled in maps, that is above the entirety of the mitten part and looks kind of like a misshapen, westward-facing sleeping rabbit drawn by a child (this is actually sort of a controversy, what it looks like: the mitten part sets an unbeatably high standard), and does NOT belong to Canada or Wisconsin.
(While the UP is also savagely beautiful, like tear your eyes out with a fishhook beautiful, it is also its own whole vast and brave new world - an extremely distinct and different place and culture, worthy of its own awesome novels.)
Also: PopSugar 2021 Reading Challenge: A book with the same title as a song. Book Riot 2021 Read Harder Challenge #22: A book set in the Midwest.
April 26, 2021
DNF at 23%. I can't take it anymore, I am so bored. Unlikeable characters and does anything ever happen? I don't want to waste any more time trying to find out.
February 9, 2021
4.5 stars. The whole time I was reading this book I kept thinking about what a little marvel it is. And I know it is Heiny's specialty, but still. She doesn't really follow any of the rules about how to make a novel draw the reader in and move them along just so. For the first third or so not much even happens. And outside of one large turning point part way through, not much else happens. And yet! I wanted to ditch all my obligations to read this book all day. Heiny is just the kind of writer I like, she isn't too fussy but she has a deep emotional wisdom that you get to partake of all throughout the book.
Jane makes one very understandable mistake right away: she falls in love with Duncan. She is new to their small town and he is gorgeous with a sweet and sunny disposition, so you cannot blame her. Except Duncan has slept with every woman in town and the surrounding counties to boot. And if he seems like an obviously bad bet at the beginning of the book, it does not stay that way. Not because Duncan changes at all, he is a constant. It's Jane who changes, and she spends the book wondering what she wants.
This is a small town book populated with quirky characters. Jane is not quirky and she often chides herself for unkind thoughts while she observes others, though outwardly she is reliable and caring for the friendships she finds herself in over the years. Personally I think Jane does not give herself enough credit, I would not be inviting my friend who always ends evenings pulling out her mandolin and singing, nor would I enjoy spending so much time with my boyfriend's ex-wife. Jane can turn on a dime from loving her friends (or Duncan or her mother) to needing them to immediately leave her presence, which was one of the most relatable things about her. Spending time in Jane's head felt a lot like home to me. Jane is also a second grade teacher and basically every scene with her students was one where I laughed out loud. While this is often a sad book, it is more often a funny book and I laughed a lot. (I also cried. Two for one.)
One important part of the plot is Jimmy, Duncan's "assistant," who has an unidentified cognitive or developmental delay. They are in the kind of small town where everyone knows Jimmy and does a bit of looking out for Jimmy. But we do not live in a world that is set up for people like Jimmy to be adequately cared for. And everyone chipping in is far from an effective system for an adult who lacks the capacity to fully care for himself. How Jimmy is involved in Jane's life changes over the course of the book, but I appreciated how the book viewed him as a full character--Jane will sometimes get frustrated with him just as she will with everyone else--but not having him as a plot device or a person who stays in the background of the story until needed. Jimmy is all over it, and it felt like a solid portrayal of disability, specifically adult disability that we don't get to see very often.
The thing that is very hard about this book if you are a person like me is that Jane just does not talk to Duncan about the things that she should. She has her reasons (she is terrified of what Duncan will say) but this is not a book where Jane and Duncan are able to build themselves a better relationship thanks to good communication. It is a book where almost no communication between them takes place. If you, like me, are guilty of living most of your romantic relationships in your own head rather than spoken out loud between you and your partner, this will all feel eerily familiar, and I can attest to its accuracy.
I would just like to read a million Katherine Heiny books that are set deep in the minds of a character, where you grow to feel deeply connected to and invested in them. It was truly a lovely experience.
Jane makes one very understandable mistake right away: she falls in love with Duncan. She is new to their small town and he is gorgeous with a sweet and sunny disposition, so you cannot blame her. Except Duncan has slept with every woman in town and the surrounding counties to boot. And if he seems like an obviously bad bet at the beginning of the book, it does not stay that way. Not because Duncan changes at all, he is a constant. It's Jane who changes, and she spends the book wondering what she wants.
This is a small town book populated with quirky characters. Jane is not quirky and she often chides herself for unkind thoughts while she observes others, though outwardly she is reliable and caring for the friendships she finds herself in over the years. Personally I think Jane does not give herself enough credit, I would not be inviting my friend who always ends evenings pulling out her mandolin and singing, nor would I enjoy spending so much time with my boyfriend's ex-wife. Jane can turn on a dime from loving her friends (or Duncan or her mother) to needing them to immediately leave her presence, which was one of the most relatable things about her. Spending time in Jane's head felt a lot like home to me. Jane is also a second grade teacher and basically every scene with her students was one where I laughed out loud. While this is often a sad book, it is more often a funny book and I laughed a lot. (I also cried. Two for one.)
One important part of the plot is Jimmy, Duncan's "assistant," who has an unidentified cognitive or developmental delay. They are in the kind of small town where everyone knows Jimmy and does a bit of looking out for Jimmy. But we do not live in a world that is set up for people like Jimmy to be adequately cared for. And everyone chipping in is far from an effective system for an adult who lacks the capacity to fully care for himself. How Jimmy is involved in Jane's life changes over the course of the book, but I appreciated how the book viewed him as a full character--Jane will sometimes get frustrated with him just as she will with everyone else--but not having him as a plot device or a person who stays in the background of the story until needed. Jimmy is all over it, and it felt like a solid portrayal of disability, specifically adult disability that we don't get to see very often.
The thing that is very hard about this book if you are a person like me is that Jane just does not talk to Duncan about the things that she should. She has her reasons (she is terrified of what Duncan will say) but this is not a book where Jane and Duncan are able to build themselves a better relationship thanks to good communication. It is a book where almost no communication between them takes place. If you, like me, are guilty of living most of your romantic relationships in your own head rather than spoken out loud between you and your partner, this will all feel eerily familiar, and I can attest to its accuracy.
I would just like to read a million Katherine Heiny books that are set deep in the minds of a character, where you grow to feel deeply connected to and invested in them. It was truly a lovely experience.
February 9, 2022
Early Morning Riser
is a poignant and laugh-out-loud funny story about love and family and how those can appear in very different ways.
Jane moves to the small town of Boyne City, Michigan, and it’s not long before she’s fallen for Duncan, the town’s locksmith and woodworker. He’s handsome, charming, and has dated nearly every woman in Boyne City at some point, but that doesn’t dissuade Jane from getting into a relationship with him.
While running into women he’s dated through the years (or relatives of theirs) can sometimes be awkward—and unexpected when it happens in neighboring towns—Jane has made peace with that. But it’s harder to share Duncan with so many people, especially his ex-wife, Aggie, her doddering new husband Gary, and Jimmy, Duncan’s coworker. (Duncan still mows Aggie and Gary’s lawn because Gary doesn’t care for lawnmowers.)
But one split-second decision, one car accident, changes everything Jane had thought about marriage and family. Suddenly Jane’s life is inextricably connected to Jimmy’s, which also means to Duncan, Aggie, and Gary. Her future takes a far different path than she was thinking in some ways, but is that a bad thing?
Early Morning Riser is an absolutely fantastic book. It moves from 2002-2019, spanning the lives of these characters and a few more. (Freida, Jane’s best friend, cracked me up so many times.) I literally was laughing hysterically throughout the book and tearing up in other places, because Katherine Heiny is such an insightful storyteller.
Heiny’s first novel, Standard Deviation , was one of my favorite books of 2017, so I’m not sure what took me so long to read this one, but I loved it. It’ll definitely make my year-end best list! (Thanks to my friend Andy for the reminder!)
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2021 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2021.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Jane moves to the small town of Boyne City, Michigan, and it’s not long before she’s fallen for Duncan, the town’s locksmith and woodworker. He’s handsome, charming, and has dated nearly every woman in Boyne City at some point, but that doesn’t dissuade Jane from getting into a relationship with him.
While running into women he’s dated through the years (or relatives of theirs) can sometimes be awkward—and unexpected when it happens in neighboring towns—Jane has made peace with that. But it’s harder to share Duncan with so many people, especially his ex-wife, Aggie, her doddering new husband Gary, and Jimmy, Duncan’s coworker. (Duncan still mows Aggie and Gary’s lawn because Gary doesn’t care for lawnmowers.)
But one split-second decision, one car accident, changes everything Jane had thought about marriage and family. Suddenly Jane’s life is inextricably connected to Jimmy’s, which also means to Duncan, Aggie, and Gary. Her future takes a far different path than she was thinking in some ways, but is that a bad thing?
Early Morning Riser is an absolutely fantastic book. It moves from 2002-2019, spanning the lives of these characters and a few more. (Freida, Jane’s best friend, cracked me up so many times.) I literally was laughing hysterically throughout the book and tearing up in other places, because Katherine Heiny is such an insightful storyteller.
Heiny’s first novel, Standard Deviation , was one of my favorite books of 2017, so I’m not sure what took me so long to read this one, but I loved it. It’ll definitely make my year-end best list! (Thanks to my friend Andy for the reminder!)
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2021 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2021.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
January 25, 2023
oh my god. i literally finished reading this in one sitting. started reading it at 11pm and finished at 4am. that says something right? no, that actually says everything about how much i loved this book. the messiness of life? the dysfunctional chosen family? finding joy in the mundane? it was perfectly imperfect and i wouldn't change any bit of it.
(you know that feeling when you pick up a book randomly, didn't even read what it's all about, and then you ended up reading for 5 hours straight and cried happy tears towards the end? if you know that feeling, then you understand me. if you don't, god i hope you feel that one day.)
i couldn't be happier that i picked this book up randomly.
(you know that feeling when you pick up a book randomly, didn't even read what it's all about, and then you ended up reading for 5 hours straight and cried happy tears towards the end? if you know that feeling, then you understand me. if you don't, god i hope you feel that one day.)
i couldn't be happier that i picked this book up randomly.
June 27, 2021
3.5
In many ways, this was a very Tyler-esque novel - it is about ordinary people, living ordinary lives in a small town in Michigan.
We follow the life of twenty-six-year-old, Jane, who moved to Boyne City to be a second-grade teacher.
She starts a relationship with forty-two year old, divorced carpenter and odd-jobs man, Duncan. Duncan was quite the ladies' man. The relationship is going smoothly until Jane realises that it wasn't going anywhere, as Duncan wasn't the marrying (again) kind of man.
A car accident and a few other happenings bring Jane and Duncan together again, and his ex-wife and her husband.
Heiny did a good job showing the ups and downs of life, the absurd, the mundane, the boredom of raising small children, occasionally interspersed by levity, cuteness, and pleasant surprises.
I'm bummed out I didn't love this more. It's got all the ingredients that I usually appreciate in a novel, but I never fully got invested in what happened to the characters.
In many ways, this was a very Tyler-esque novel - it is about ordinary people, living ordinary lives in a small town in Michigan.
We follow the life of twenty-six-year-old, Jane, who moved to Boyne City to be a second-grade teacher.
She starts a relationship with forty-two year old, divorced carpenter and odd-jobs man, Duncan. Duncan was quite the ladies' man. The relationship is going smoothly until Jane realises that it wasn't going anywhere, as Duncan wasn't the marrying (again) kind of man.
A car accident and a few other happenings bring Jane and Duncan together again, and his ex-wife and her husband.
Heiny did a good job showing the ups and downs of life, the absurd, the mundane, the boredom of raising small children, occasionally interspersed by levity, cuteness, and pleasant surprises.
I'm bummed out I didn't love this more. It's got all the ingredients that I usually appreciate in a novel, but I never fully got invested in what happened to the characters.
June 10, 2021
Wonderfully and hysterically written!
RTC to come!
RTC to come!
January 4, 2021
The perfect antidote to a miserable year and non-festive Christmas season !
I was overjoyed to discover that this novel of small town life and family relationships is just as delightfully entertaining as Heiny’s first novel ‘Standard Deviation’. Her genius at creating odd-ball, lovable, yet believable characters is only matched by the great Anne Tyler - but Heiny creates more situation comedy with laughs and striking behavioural observations on every page.
I could have highlighted most of the novel! Highly recommended.
Many thanks go to the publisher for the ARC via NetGalley.
I was overjoyed to discover that this novel of small town life and family relationships is just as delightfully entertaining as Heiny’s first novel ‘Standard Deviation’. Her genius at creating odd-ball, lovable, yet believable characters is only matched by the great Anne Tyler - but Heiny creates more situation comedy with laughs and striking behavioural observations on every page.
I could have highlighted most of the novel! Highly recommended.
Many thanks go to the publisher for the ARC via NetGalley.
July 6, 2021
I loved this - I just adore Heiny’s writing and her storytelling chops. All of these people felt so real to me. It’s a lovely and upbeat character-driven novel - highly recommend. Also, Heiny’s Standard Deviation is a similar winner.
More, please!
More, please!
April 23, 2021
I really loved her book of short stories, but this was straight cartoon characters. Has anyone like Gary ever existed? I don't think so. And Freida with her mandolin...sigh. And were we supposed to like Duncan? Because I did not.
August 5, 2021
I never thought in a million years this book could compete with Standard Deviations, but I was so wrong. Although completely different stories, they both earn every star. Each feature characters I most likely would not enjoy in my real life and storylines that aren’t my usual go-to that ended up being so fulfilling.
Early Morning Riser is a book about how families come in all sorts of denominations. It’s about how one moment can monumentally change your life and the lives of those around you forever. It’s about sacrifices and compromises. And mostly it’s about love and friendship and finding happiness. It’s truly laugh out loud funny at times – it features a contender for my rare “kid of the year” award (since I generally hate all children) in Patrice and it made me feel all the things.
I will read A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G. Katherine Heiny writes . . . .
June 28, 2021
3.5 Michigan stars
This one is focused on Jane, a second-grade teacher, and her life in small town Michigan. She falls in love quickly with Duncan, but then discovers that he has been involved with just about every woman in town. He’s a woodworker who finishes his work painfully slowly, hiding from customers because he hasn’t finished their orders (sometimes for years!). Duncan’s ex-wife is still a big part of his life and that causes Jane no end of discomfort.
There’s also Jimmy, Duncan’s store helper, and he becomes a big part of Jane’s life too. There are some funny moments with Jane’s school classes and field trips and some eccentric characters in town.
This was an enjoyable read, but I just didn’t get drawn into the characters as much as I would have liked. I wanted the characters to be developed a bit more so that I understood their motivations more. I know some other readers loved this one, so maybe it was just my frame of mind with this one.
This made for an excellent buddy read with Jayme, be sure to read her review of this one. And thanks to my local library for the copy to read.
This one is focused on Jane, a second-grade teacher, and her life in small town Michigan. She falls in love quickly with Duncan, but then discovers that he has been involved with just about every woman in town. He’s a woodworker who finishes his work painfully slowly, hiding from customers because he hasn’t finished their orders (sometimes for years!). Duncan’s ex-wife is still a big part of his life and that causes Jane no end of discomfort.
There’s also Jimmy, Duncan’s store helper, and he becomes a big part of Jane’s life too. There are some funny moments with Jane’s school classes and field trips and some eccentric characters in town.
This was an enjoyable read, but I just didn’t get drawn into the characters as much as I would have liked. I wanted the characters to be developed a bit more so that I understood their motivations more. I know some other readers loved this one, so maybe it was just my frame of mind with this one.
This made for an excellent buddy read with Jayme, be sure to read her review of this one. And thanks to my local library for the copy to read.
May 24, 2022
In the small-ish town where I live, a favorite quip is, "You aren't the new girlfriend, you're just the next in line." It's a place of one degree of separation, where your yoga instructor was once married to your boss, your boss's second wife dated your current partner, and your partner's ex-wife is your massage therapist.
So I read Katherine Heiny's delightful, warm-hearted, and archly funny Early Morning Riser with frequent nods and snorts of eye-rolling recognition. In 2002, twenty-six-year-old Jane moves to a small northern Michigan town to teach second grade and falls immediately for the town's Casanova, Duncan. Duncan, in his forties, looks “like the Brawny paper towel man,” and has slept with pretty much every woman in town. Later, when he gifts Jane a necklace for Christmas, she sees the same pendant dangling from the neck of a waitress at the local diner. "Does he buy them in bulk?" she ponders. Does she care? That's one of the novel's central questions: what do we accept for the sake of love?
Jane and Duncan flow and ebb during the ten years that span the novel, as Jane becomes part of the fabric of the community. Heiny weaves in a cast of vibrant and strange secondary characters that elicit laugh-out loud moments and a freshness so needed during these heavy, meaning-laden times. Freida, Jane's single BFF who plays her mandolin and sings at every gathering; Aggie, Duncan's voluptuous ex-wife, who is a culinary genius, the town's top realtor, and wife to Gary, a socially-inept manchild; Jane's mother, who lives in another city but is around often enough to insert herself into the action and into Jane's conscience, hilariously but also tragically. And eventually there are Jane's daughters, who evoke equal parts tenderness and exasperation. Duncan, a gifted but disorganized woodworker, has a sole employee, Jimmy, a kind, attentive, but vulnerable young man who becomes orphaned early in the novel. It is this incident, and Jane's involvement in it, that forever binds her to Jimmy's fate, and to this town she learns to love as her true home.
There is an effervescence to the writing, a quirky comedy that falls far from slapstick but touches on the absurd, so suspend your disbelief and let go of the literal. Heiny's dialogue and insights are rich and real as she shows us that, in the way of small towns, you are constantly tripping over your own, and others', pasts. The key, as Jane shows us with awkward and hilarious grace, is to fling yourself forward until you regain your footing, but don't hesitate to accept your neighbor's offer to help you to your feet should you fall flat on your face.
So I read Katherine Heiny's delightful, warm-hearted, and archly funny Early Morning Riser with frequent nods and snorts of eye-rolling recognition. In 2002, twenty-six-year-old Jane moves to a small northern Michigan town to teach second grade and falls immediately for the town's Casanova, Duncan. Duncan, in his forties, looks “like the Brawny paper towel man,” and has slept with pretty much every woman in town. Later, when he gifts Jane a necklace for Christmas, she sees the same pendant dangling from the neck of a waitress at the local diner. "Does he buy them in bulk?" she ponders. Does she care? That's one of the novel's central questions: what do we accept for the sake of love?
Jane and Duncan flow and ebb during the ten years that span the novel, as Jane becomes part of the fabric of the community. Heiny weaves in a cast of vibrant and strange secondary characters that elicit laugh-out loud moments and a freshness so needed during these heavy, meaning-laden times. Freida, Jane's single BFF who plays her mandolin and sings at every gathering; Aggie, Duncan's voluptuous ex-wife, who is a culinary genius, the town's top realtor, and wife to Gary, a socially-inept manchild; Jane's mother, who lives in another city but is around often enough to insert herself into the action and into Jane's conscience, hilariously but also tragically. And eventually there are Jane's daughters, who evoke equal parts tenderness and exasperation. Duncan, a gifted but disorganized woodworker, has a sole employee, Jimmy, a kind, attentive, but vulnerable young man who becomes orphaned early in the novel. It is this incident, and Jane's involvement in it, that forever binds her to Jimmy's fate, and to this town she learns to love as her true home.
There is an effervescence to the writing, a quirky comedy that falls far from slapstick but touches on the absurd, so suspend your disbelief and let go of the literal. Heiny's dialogue and insights are rich and real as she shows us that, in the way of small towns, you are constantly tripping over your own, and others', pasts. The key, as Jane shows us with awkward and hilarious grace, is to fling yourself forward until you regain your footing, but don't hesitate to accept your neighbor's offer to help you to your feet should you fall flat on your face.
April 29, 2021
I know I'm in the minority here but I didn't really care for this book. I wanted to like it, I wanted to love it (and sometimes I did) because it is set in upper MI and there are fun, quirky characters and it generally has a sweet midwestern feel to it... But every time I started to get into it, I got frustrated all over again and wanted to throw up my hands.
The underlying message seemed to be, 'just take it, just deal with it, just sacrifice, just fight your instincts, just be a good girl and take whatever anyone sends your way (all with a smile on your face!) - just wait and then maybe you can marry and have kids with a guy who has slept with literally every woman within a 200 mile radius. Wow, what a prize! But, you have to wait for him to decide that's what he wants, who cares what you want!
What was with Jane's mom; why didn't she care she sort of killed someone - why would Jane seriously take responsibility for that? What was with Gary? Why was Freida always carrying her mandolin around with her and randomly breaking out into song? They all seemed more like caricatures than slightly kooky family and friends. And on what planet would Duncan and Aggie's relationship / 'vacation' alone be okay? I had plenty of problems with Jane's character but one thing I know above all else, no matter how charming or cute or sincere Duncan was, she deserved WAY better. My last and probably biggest qualm with this book... what if Jane had been the one sleeping with every man she met and Duncan was just a 'good boy'? I have a hard time believing the story would have been able to take the same tone and the town would have supported her in the way they seemed to think 'boys will be boys' about Duncan.
There were some sweet moments and some funny ones but I wanted more from this book. I wanted a better representation of upper Michigan. I enjoyed the scenery and the feel of being Up North but the characters lacked depth and that was too bad.
The underlying message seemed to be, 'just take it, just deal with it, just sacrifice, just fight your instincts, just be a good girl and take whatever anyone sends your way (all with a smile on your face!) - just wait and then maybe you can marry and have kids with a guy who has slept with literally every woman within a 200 mile radius. Wow, what a prize! But, you have to wait for him to decide that's what he wants, who cares what you want!
What was with Jane's mom; why didn't she care she sort of killed someone - why would Jane seriously take responsibility for that? What was with Gary? Why was Freida always carrying her mandolin around with her and randomly breaking out into song? They all seemed more like caricatures than slightly kooky family and friends. And on what planet would Duncan and Aggie's relationship / 'vacation' alone be okay? I had plenty of problems with Jane's character but one thing I know above all else, no matter how charming or cute or sincere Duncan was, she deserved WAY better. My last and probably biggest qualm with this book... what if Jane had been the one sleeping with every man she met and Duncan was just a 'good boy'? I have a hard time believing the story would have been able to take the same tone and the town would have supported her in the way they seemed to think 'boys will be boys' about Duncan.
There were some sweet moments and some funny ones but I wanted more from this book. I wanted a better representation of upper Michigan. I enjoyed the scenery and the feel of being Up North but the characters lacked depth and that was too bad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2021
Today's rant involves: "WHY do publishers use the word 'bighearted' in book blurbs when what they ACTUALLY mean is 'This book will be depressing as fuck and will also glorify exceptionally unhealthy interpersonal relationships'?"
So much cringe for this entire book that, while it had moments of sweetness and pathos and humor, overall was trying too hard to be like Katherine Center or Evvie Drake Starts Over. Read those books instead.
So much cringe for this entire book that, while it had moments of sweetness and pathos and humor, overall was trying too hard to be like Katherine Center or Evvie Drake Starts Over. Read those books instead.
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