Cobble Hill - by Cecily Von Ziegesar (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Gossip Girl series brings her sharp-eyed and irresistible wit to this "quirky novel of lovable misfits" (Publishers Weekly) chronicling a year in the lives of four families in an upscale Brooklyn neighborhood as they seek purpose and community--until one unforgettable night at a raucous neighborhood party knocks them to their senses.

Welcome to Cobble Hill.

In this eclectic Brooklyn neighborhood, private storms brew amongst four married couples and their children. There's ex-groupie Mandy, so underwhelmed by motherhood and her current physical state that she fakes a debilitating disease to get the attention of her skateboarding, ex-boyband member husband Stuart. There's the unconventional new school nurse, Peaches, on whom Stuart has an unrequited crush, and her disappointing husband Greg, who wears noise-cancelling headphones--everywhere.

A few blocks away, Roy, a well-known, newly transplanted British novelist, has lost the thread of his next novel and his marriage to indefatigable Wendy. Around the corner, Tupper, the nervous, introverted industrial designer with a warehouse full of prosthetic limbs struggles to pin down his elusive artist wife Elizabeth. Throw in two hormonal teenagers, a ten-year-old pyromaniac, a drug dealer pretending to be a doctor, and a lot of hidden cameras, and you've got a combustible mix of egos, desires, and secrets bubbling in brownstone Brooklyn.

"Breezy, witty, and compulsively fun to read" (Kirkus Reviews), Cobble Hill is highly entertaining portrait of contemporary family life and the colorful characters who call Brooklyn home.

Review Quotes

"A delightful look at connected lives...The story delves deep into the minds of each character, providing a dynamism that makes it impossible not to become invested in what happens to each one." --Associated Press

"A fun, quirky character study of four couples harboring secrets that inevitably implode in over-the-top fashion. Blair Waldorf would approve." --The Washington Post

"Delightful and comforting...A real Brooklyn novel that belongs on the shelf with Paul Auster and Emma Straub." --Vanity Fair

"Entertaining." --Vogue

"If you live for front stoop gossip, don't sleep on this one." --Good Housekeeping

"The funny, observant [von Ziegesar] takes on bourgeois bohemian Brooklyn in this fast-moving, gimlet-eyed novel."--Town and Country

Praise for Cobble Hill

"Surprisingly tender...breezy, witty and compulsively fun to read...full of laughable moments...[a] diverting escape that will make readers long for the human connection of a tight-knit neighborhood." --Kirkus Reviews

"Thoughtfully observed and frequently funny...Readers of ensemble fiction by Emma Straub and Amy Poeppel--as well as grown-up fans of Gossip Girl--will enjoy this inside look at the lifestyles of the creative class." --Booklist

"Von Ziegesar's quirky novel of lovable misfits will appeal to fans of Tom Perrotta." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Cecily von Ziegesar is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Gossip Girl novels, upon which the hit television show is based. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family.