The Reading

by Barbara Monier

An unexpected—and unrecognized—visitor attends veteran writer Esmé’s reading and brings events of forty years past squarely into her present. Struggling with writer’s block and uncertain about a future with her romantic partner, Esmé undertakes a journey through her own history. Esmé revisits a particular year she had written off as the worst of her life as well as her whirlwind early marriage. In the process, Esmé ultimately overcomes the wounded hesitancy that has characterized her life and rediscovers her former courage and openness to risk.

“A question at the heart of this novel What happened to the young people of [Esmé’s] generation who were so ready to take on the world? Monier deftly spans the decades and writes incisively about how the answers aren’t always easy to find. She gives shape to fragmented and loose connections between people, however dispersed they have become, and thoughtfully explores an idea that may resonate with many members of her heroine’s generation. As Esmé puts ‘Perhaps it’s not the past that catches up with me, but rather the other way around.’ A beautifully written novel shows how small moments can make a big difference in people’s lives.” —Kirkus Reviews

“With striking sensitivity, humor, and superb awareness, Barbara Monier brings to life the trials of a young creative woman finding her way in the world… The author weaves past and present beautifully… A literary gem with the kinds of characters you deeply care about… It’s a masterful story from a masterful writer.” —David Berner, A Golf Tale

“Monier’s style of writing is compelling, filled with details and occurrences of everyday life that most people don’t notice… This is a book that will make you examine your own values, and is a must read.” —Pat Camalliere, Cora Tozzi Historical Mystery Series

“[Monier is] a writer who loves language and crafts stories that deeply mine a character’s past… Her heavily Salinger-inspired experiences are wry, painful and relatable.… A deeply personal and ‘quiet’ story that goes in and out of time and arrives at less a climax than a massive epiphany… A positive message in our turbulent times.” —Rita Dragonette, The Fourteenth of September

“The writing is so clean and the voice so authentic, that there is a tendency to take it slow and reflect on what’s on the page.… Monier does a masterful job of sharing the hopes and fears of a young woman away from home for the first time in her life… This is a poignant, often funny, life-story… Highly recommended.” —Len Joy, Dry Heat

“Masterful…[with] gorgeous, meaningful passages… Thank you, Barbara Monier, for writing this up front and personal novel that’s so profound, so witty, so real.” —Carol Orange, A Discerning Eye

“The Reading deals with the human condition of loneliness, addresses the complexity of relationships (regardless of age), and illustrates the difficulty of understanding both youth and loss. I relished the descriptions of Esmé’s physical surroundings because they were poignant and evocative. Monier also uses humor, and I found myself laughing out loud at some of Esmé’s observations in her internal monologue.… The Reading will appeal to anyone who appreciates self-reflective writing and a complex main character.

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 27, 2022

About the author

Barbara Monier's sixth novel--Perfectly Hugo-- releases November 18, 2025.

Barbara Monier has been writing since her earliest days when she composed in crayon on paper with extremely wide lines. She studied writing at Yale University and the University of Michigan. While at Michigan, she worked independently with poet Robert Hayden. Also at Michigan, she received the Avery and Jule Hopwood Prize. It was the highest prize awarded that year and the first in Michigan's history for a piece written directly for the screen. The Reading (2022) was her previous (fifth) published novel. The Rocky Orchard (2020) was awarded the Silver Medal for Literary Fiction, Readers' Favorite Awards. Pushing the River (2019) won the Bronze Award for Literary Fiction, Readers' Favorite Awards.

Reviews

[Carol Orange · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Barbara Monier’s masterful novel, The Reading, we meet Esmé, an established writer in her early sixties. She is giving a reading. We are there with her every step of the way, including watching her being festooned with a Mardi Gras style necklace. As she’s signing books she’s surprised by a visitor, Tom Killarney, who traveled from the East Coast to be at her reading that night. He tells her that she changed his life, back when they were freshmen at the Ivy League school she hated. Later in the novel we learn how Esme’s speaking truth to him in her outspoken, caring way halted his downward slide at school. “Tommy, what the fuck are you doing” Esmé,asked.

The novel moves back and forth in time. We readers get to see Esmé, at the hated school as we live through each trauma and disappointment with her. Esmé,says: “stories are never about events”. We hear Esme’s precocious voice, very much like her namesake Esmé, in J.D. Salinger’s story as she takes us through that dreadful year and on her adult journey with her boyfriend Gino.

There are some gorgeous, meaningful passages, such as:

“It is amazing the lies we can tell ourselves- how fully we can convince ourselves, fool ourselves into believing that various things about us are true. With a spirit of creativity and a zest for denial, I managed to bend and twist my great dislike of eating alone into a belief that I never actually did it. “
“The way the morning sun creates an ever-shifting mosaic of brilliant glints that dance across the surface of the harbor remains as breathtaking as ever. And yet, mornings are entirely changed. What used to be a steady rumble of white noise that the lakefront traffic produced has died down to a murmur, the low purr of a gentle breeze.”
“I get it now. I get that Montgomery Treadwell III—and the scores of others like him—had always been and would always be the same. But what about Tom? What about the smart, seething boy who had bought me turtlenecks and brought me coffee and handed out flyers side-by-side with me—how did the Toms of the world go from wanting to make real and good and lasting changes to turning tail, wandering away, at the very least looking in the other direction. Or perhaps, as Rob said, taking part in fucking over so many others, directly taking part, choking the life out of them with their own bare hands.
What happened to us? “
“Let go of the ghosts. Take the risks.”
Thank you, Esmé, for speaking truth so brilliantly. Thank you, Barbara Monier for writing this up front and personal novel that’s so profound, so witty, so real. I’m not surprised your caring, take no prisoner’s voice changed lives.

[Rita Dragonette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This latest novel from a writer who loves language and crafts stories that deeply mine a character’s past to allow them to understand a key truth that illuminates their present, takes this formula to a new height. Here, in a reverie triggered by a surprise guest at one of her readings, author Esme reflects on “the worst year of her life.” A year when the reluctant student—fortified by a hard shell as protection from an old grief-- arrives as a square-peg scholarship student in a very round-hole ivy league college. Her heavily Salinger-inspired experiences are wry, painful and relatable. After this year, the narrative moves forward, dipping into key inflection points along her 62-year-old life, involving past lovers, a carnival physic’s prophecy, and the tragedy of COVID. These detailed memories allow her to crack away at that shell to understand her impact on others, shed her grief and open her heart to the opportunities offered by her current lover. It’s a deeply personal and “quiet” story that goes in and out of time and arrives at less a climax than a massive epiphany, as Esme assembles the previously mysterious puzzle pieces of her life into a recognizable pattern that has been within her grasp all along. A positive message in our turbulent times.

[Brooke Laufer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Reading takes on an impressive and vast topic - a generation's role in current social ills - but through the very personal and specific view point of one determined, honest, and gritty woman. Esme is a dynamic character the reader is compelled to follow, to love, and to understand. Monier creates a poetic flow from past to present - we have the intriguing glimpse into a young woman's beginnings in a fractured family, emerging as a fractured young woman, and arriving as a reflective and wise adult woman. The sentences and dialogue make it easy and enjoyable to flip through these pages, will have a reader laughing and crying out loud.

[Len Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Reading – by Barbara Monier

I read this novel over two days, which is not my normal practice. I can always find reasons to stop reading and The Reading is not what I would describe as a “page turner,” in the sense that I felt compelled to tear through the book to find out what happens next.

On the contrary, the writing is so clean and the voice so authentic, that there is a tendency to take it slow and reflect on what’s on the page. It is the story of a seasoned novelist, Esme (named after the character in the Salinger short story), who is on a reading tour for her latest novel, when she encounters a man whom she knew forty years ago when they were both first year students at a prestigious university. That was the “worst year of her life,” so she is shocked to discover that the man had come to her reading to tell her she had changed the course of his life.

Okay, so that is a page-turning revelation, but when we turn the page, we don’t learn about this man/boy from the past, we learn that Esme is on this extended reading tour because she has writer’s block. She is out of stories – a frightening prospect for a novelist.

The encounter triggers memories for Esme. Monier does a masterful job of sharing the hopes and fears of a young woman away from home for the first tine in her life and struggling to find her place. This is a poignant, often funny, life-story of a character whose company I enjoyed. She is the kind of person I wouldn’t mind having a beer with, or perhaps in her case, a shot of Southern Comfort.

Highly recommended.

[Pat Camalliere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esme, a noted sixtyish writer, has been living alone in a home she loves. She is reasonably happy with her situation, until Gino, her companion of many years, asks her to move in with him. Then, after a reading of her latest book, she is approached by Tommy, an old friend she hasn’t seen since her first year of college. The meeting awakens memories of what she considered the worst year of her life, when she had been introduced into a company of old-money, upper-class individuals that represented ideals she found not only uncomfortable but ethically upsetting. Tommy was her only real friend during that year. His reappearance, though brief, causes her to reexamine her life values and her decision to move in with Gino. Chapters alternate between present-day and 1972 as the reader learns of Esme’s life in two very different worlds as she makes decisions about her future, and wrestles with the realization that her views of today’s world have very much to do with her college experience. Monier’s style of writing is compelling, filled with details and occurrences of everyday life that most people don’t notice, but once the author mentions them, we know how meaningful they are. This is a book that will make you examine your own values, and is a must read, particularly if you are unhappy about what is happening in today’s troubling times.

[David W. Berner · Rating 5 out of 5]

With striking sensitivity, humor, and superb awareness, Barbara Monier brings to life the trials of a young creative woman finding her way in the world, and yet through it all in her older years, the woman finds herself still searching. The author weaves past and present beautifully through artistic touches — including odes to James Joyce and the great naturalist poet Gary Snyder. And in turn is able to create a literary gem with the kinds of characters you deeply care about and would love to spend hours with, talking about art, life, and the unavoidable connective tissue between the two. It’s a masterful story from a masterful writer.

[Deborah Good · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are memoirs that read like novels and novels that read like memoirs. Barbara Monier’s latest novel, The Reading, with its clean prose and intense interiority is the latter. She brought me into the world of the elite college campus of the early 1970s, where Esmé’s struggles to make a life for herself away from her single, widowed mother. It is an environment that reeks of long-established, unself-conscious privilege, and its wealthy students have no doubt about their secure place in the world. Esmé, however, has no idea where she truly belongs, and which newfound friends are the companions she can trust on her journey. A coming-of-age story that resonated.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the introductory chapter, the writing and the story pack a punch. I listened to the audiobook and I cannot recommend it enough. I found myself wishing my commute were longer so that I could hear a few more minutes of Monier's lyrical writing, which the audiobook reader really brings to life. The story itself was equally compelling, centering on a young woman trying to navigate being away from home for the first time in an upper-class private college where she doesn't fit in, interspersed with glimpses of the future in which she is an established writer reflecting on her past. I was particularly moved by the moments that take place in the future; this is one of the best accounts of aging, and of finding oneself moving beyond middle age, that I have read to date. All in all, I cannot recommend this book enough!

[Mirelle Bloch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Midway through The Reading, Monier hits her stride, casting aside her shield and stepping boldly into an authentic and self-possessed voice that crescendos to maturity, insight, deeply felt empathy, and poignancy. Monier is especially adept, albeit through the voice of her main character, Esmé, at conveying the emotional life of her dynamic three-dimensional characters, and displays a particular gift for creating droll incisive dialogue. The repartee of her college-aged characters is especially delightful. The relationship Monier draws between only child Esmé and her mother is poignantly felt. Of particular interest is the way in which the writing style of the book seems to mirror the development of Esmé, from the awkward, self-consciousness of adolescence to the voice of a reflective, wise, and compassionate adult.

[Ruth Chatlien · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a novel about taking stock of one's life—and perhaps finding the courage to jettison our defense mechanisms. Esmé, a writer in her sixties, is experiencing a prolonged creative paralysis. Instead of working on a new novel, she's put off dealing with her writer's block by continuing to give public readings of her last published work. Then one night someone from her past shows up in the audience, and the unexpected encounter propels her into reviewing both the childhood loss that scarred her and her first year of college, which she views as the worst year of her life. The two events have combined to turn her into a defensive person who deliberately avoids both memory and commitment.

Her voyage of reminiscence occurs at the same time that she faces an upheaval to her current life as major as her long-ago enrollment at a strange university in an alien part of the country. Her lover, Gino, has asked her to live with him, a move that will force her to leave the carefully constructed routine and cocoon that have surrounded and cushioned her for decades. Esmé makes the physical move, but can she risk the psychological and emotional shifts that will be necessary to commit herself to Gino? Or will she once again retreat?

Esmé is a sharply drawn character who makes mordant observants about the world and records her experiences in memorable detail—in sentences such as this one about a childhood visit to Pittsburgh: "The Sound of Music on a screen so immense that I felt pressed back in my seat by a barrage of pictures and sounds—I had nightmares about the Baroness’ nostrils and the way the peals of thunder rattled inside of my chest."

The COVID-19 pandemic makes its appearance, but instead of dominating the narrative, it works on Esmé as it did on so many of us—as a catalyst toward reevaluating our lives. I found myself rooting for Esmé the entire novel, and the ending felt satisfying without being too tidy or forced.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved “The Reading” by Barbara Monier. It's one of those books that sticks with you. Monier’s writing is beautiful, poetic, and compelling.

Esme, named after JD Salinger's short story "For Esmé—with Love and Squalor," is brilliant, sarcastic, and similar to her namesake, precocious. I've read so many books where I simply don't like the main character. It’s tough to get into them. This wasn't the case with Esme. She’s relatable and feels like that friend who always gives you an honest answer.

Monier effectively uses time skips to highlight Esme’s dreadful year at a prestigious writing program in the early 1970s to 2019/2020 (COVID times) where she’s an accomplished author dealing with writer’s block and reflecting on past relationships and decisions.

Great read!

[Mitch Hirst · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Reading follows the main character, Esme, at various points in her life. Throughout these experiences, the story serves as a beautiful reflection on human interaction and is a brilliant reminder that a seemingly meaningless or mundane moment in ones own life still holds the power to have a profound impact on another.

The Reading is the perfect book to lose yourself in while curled up on the couch (with a cup of coffee and a donut of course). I can’t wait to read more of Monier’s work!

[Tay Parpan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as I loved her other two books that I had the pleasure of reading: The Rocky Orchard and Pushing the River. Barbara Monier has a way of grabbing you right from the beginning and never letting you go until the last page is turned. When you're finished reading this book, you hold it up to your heart, close your eyes and take a deep breath and know that you have read something incredibly raw, emotive, and personal. This novel reads like a memoir of a complex woman named Esme who was named after a character in a J.D. Salinger story, who on a book tour, suffering from writer's block, runs into Tom, an old college friend. Tom reveals that her critical, but brutally honest remark 40 years ago changed his life. As she reflects on that first year of college, she tells us this was the worst year of her life. But through those relationships, the pain and loneliness of new beginnings and self-reflection, she begins to grow. Esme digs into the past to find her way forward. I found in Esme a friend I wish I had met that first year in college.

[Teresa Norris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Reading takes you on a journey through time, only to reflect that kindness is the best gift you can give. Monier makes her characters come to life, some relatable, some not so much. The Reading was enjoyable and brilliantly written. I am so looking forward to her next book.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was looking forward to reading Barbara’s latest book and was not disappointed. Relatable characters who remind us of the importance of belonging make for a great book. Can’t wait for her next!

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! I loved Barbara Monier’s new book, The Reading! This is the third book I’ve read by Monier and The Reading is a real gem. In her fifth book, The Reading, Monier has a way of painting with words to create visual scenes that are easy to enter. Her writing is beautiful, very poetic, simple yet complex and is like a well-crafted, spontaneous painting that uses color in innovative ways. Monier is an intuitive writer creating books that stay with you. After reading The Reading, I found myself going back and thinking about deeper ideas of connection. How do we reach out to others? This is a book that you might re-visit again and extract new details and ideas.
In The Reading, the main character, Esme shows a sense of connection, empathy, and compassion with the other characters throughout the book. Esme has a keen sense of observation where she is amazed at life’s small details. As I read The Reading, I felt like the book’s experiences were things that I could relate with throughout my own life. In one scene, the older Esme comforts an older man who is the victim of a hit and run. Out of a crowd of people, it’s Esme who steps forward and offers the man a caring hand.
I loved how the book’s timeline weaved back and forth between 1973 and 2020 Covid times. The young, college age Esme and the middle-aged writer Esme show the same sense of fascination with the books other characters. She is a person who is always looking for deeper, individual connections while truly caring for others. After reading the book, I found myself thinking and pondering about similar connections with others I’ve had through-out life. What an outstanding book!

[Janice Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I make an effort to review each book I read, but sometimes I get busy and they slip through the cracks. I was reminded I'd only left a rating for this one, so I took another look.

I'm sure every reader has their own criteria for what constitutes a good read. Perhaps it's beautiful or descriptive writing, perhaps it's interesting characters, perhaps it makes you think, perhaps (my own main one) it hits you in the feelings. This one checked all the boxes. Rather than watching the story unfold at a distance, I fell into it and became deeply connected with Esme. Although my life experiences don't totally coincide with hers, there was enough for me to feel her joys and pains, her embarrassments and uncertainties, her needs and longings. That definitely makes it a five star book for me.

[Segg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m currently reading The Reading and enjoying the book quite a bit. The poetic writing and nature of reflection has made it the perfect fall reading companion.

[John K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes a simple story comes along that is so rich in its thematic layers that it mimics the many turns of the cortex of any individual's emotions and motives. THE READING is flying in that rare air. The characters are as deep and complex as the people who occupy all of our lives, and Monier presents their textures and facets in ways that are so subtle that they might even be called sly. This is a tremendous novel, a rich look at intersecting lives that reminds readers of the worlds that surround every one of us.

[Paula Mikrut · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does our parents’ choice of name influence who we are to become?

This question, posed by the protagonist in The Reading, is a natural one for her to ask. She was named after the titular character in JD Salinger’s famous story, “For Esme—with Love and Squalor,” a character her own family described as a “terribly cold person” with “no sense of humor.” But the girl in the story didn’t accept these dour descriptions. She trained herself to be more compassionate and later reached out a hand to the narrator, a soldier, pulling him back from the edge when he was suffering from PTSD. The similarity between the two Esmes becomes obvious in the course of this book and, just like our protagonist, we want to know the answer to the story’s question.

Our Esme is a 64-year-old writer who longs for a real connection with another person but doesn’t know how to find it. As a child, she had a close relationship with her father, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances when she was five. She was raised by her mother, and the hallmark of their relationship was that they didn’t talk about anything important. As a young adult, she had an intense relationship with a poet, but he died in a car accident more than thirty years ago, and she has lived alone since then.

Now she is adrift. Her writing is blocked, she questions her identity as a writer and is conflicted about moving in with a man who has declared there will be no “navel gazing” in their relationship. Then an old college friend’s appearance at a reading sends her back in time, evoking memories of a year she thinks of as the worst of her life and causing her to examine her past to try to find a way forward.

Esme isn’t just the protagonist. She is the only character with more than a bit part. So for this novel to work, we need to care about her. Luckily, she’s an intriguing character, complex and contradictory. She knows what she needs—a true connection with another person. But like so many of us, she sabotages herself without realizing it. Convinced that she can instantly recognize someone with whom she is destined to connect, she judges people when she meets them based on the most superficial of traits. She keeps people at a distance and can be cruel or dismissive of people who care about her.

Esme’s living situation is a perfect metaphor for the decision she faces about whether to move in with Gino. She currently lives in a first-floor apartment, where she can observe the world, hidden but nearby. Every day, she listens through the window to people who gather on the front stoop. Gino lives in a high-rise, and she can see the lake and the geese but is more removed from any human interaction. Which choice is right for her, or is there another option? Can she find a way to participate in, and not just observe, her life?

As I was reading this book, I thought I understood Esme’s options and what she would decide. I was surprised by what actually happened and thought that she had made a better choice than I would have.

There is a letter that Esme’s father leaves for her the day he disappears. The front of the envelope says “SECRET.” I kept waiting to find out what was in the envelope and what really happened to her father, but I was disappointed. Still, this was a satisfying book that I’m glad I read. I only wish I had gotten the print version. From what I can tell, the cover is gorgeous—the kind of book I might keep on the coffee table because it’s so beautiful.

[Roch Bordenave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a difficult time relating to any of these characters, especially the lead. Maybe it's because I'm not a literary scholar, well-versed in the greats like Salinger and Joyce. Or maybe the story's subtleties are so subtle they're just not registering. I kept reading along wondering when "it" was going to happen...that "something" or "event" that shifts all the other parts (given often in great depth and detail) into focus. But "it" never came. Having deeply enjoyed other works by this author, I chose to give the book another go. Sadly, The (subsequent) Reading didn't change anything for me. It troubles me to review this book as such as A) I wanted to like it and B) I feel there might be a good bit of the author's own life in this...and putting yourself out there in this way is as personal as it gets. The author's eloquence is dynamic but the subject matter didn't grab me.

[susan hirst ketcham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just read Barbara Monier's new novel, The Reading, in one sitting. The main character in the book is Esme, a 60 something writer who is experiencing writer's block. Esme is a compelling character because she is believable. The story moves easily between past and present with Esme reflecting back to her first year in college which she refers to as, "the worst year of my life." She learns, many decades later, that a brief conversation she had with a college friend (during the worst year of her life) was a profoundly moving moment for him that completely changed his life. This is a book about human connections, some brief but meaningful and some enduring such as Esme's later-in-life relationship with Gino. You will think about this book long after putting it down. I really enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it.

[Sydnye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please read this book. Monier crafts a story that rings true and is so beautifully written that I had to stop and reread sentences and paragraphs to savor the language. I recognize Chicago(my hometown), my freshman experience, and the despair we felt during the pandemic. Reading The Reading was a delight. I wish it had lasted longer

[Janis Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read. I love how Esme (the narrator) alternates between her current age as an author in her early 60's, and her college-aged self, and how she ties those two times together.

[Jay Amberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Literate and lyrical…wildly entertaining and deeply thought provoking.… A remarkable job… A great, great, great novel.” —Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune