First Time, Long Time - by Amy Silverberg (Hardcover)

About the Book

"When aspiring writer Allison moved to L.A., she expected her life to finally take shape. After years of dwelling in grief over her brother's unexpected and untimely death and allowing her mercurial parents' feelings and desires to infect her own, she feels ready become the main character in her own story again. Yet Allison continues to feel inextricably tied to both her parents, particularly her unpredictable father, and weighed down by her the loss of her brother. In L.A., as with anywhere else, she feels lonely and adrift, unable to write and barely scraping by as an English teacher. After a serendipitous run in with famed radio DJ Reid Steinman, an idol of her father's and her late brother's, Allison is rapidly drawn under his spell, while also developing an unanticipated, tangled relationship with his adult daughter, Maddie. She's forced to balance her romance with Reid with her gnawing desire for the intoxicatingly charming Maddie, as it becomes increasingly evident that she and Allison's late brother share more than a few qualities. As Allison's relationships with the equally self-possessed father and daughter deepens, she struggles to establish the boundaries of her own identity. Through candid self-awareness, keen observations, and deliciously wry humor, FIRST TIME, LONG TIME asks, what happens to a young woman's goals when she becomes involved with a famous man whose needs seem so much louder than her own? And how might she move forward when so much in her past remains unresolved? "-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

RECOMMENDED BY VULTURE, OPRAH DAILY, W MAG, HEY ALMA, DEBUTIFUL, AUTOSTRADDLE, BOOKRIOT, AND BOOKBUB

"[T]he funniest debut book of the year." --Debutiful

For readers of Emma Cline and Melissa Broder, "a brilliant novel about becoming more the person you're meant to be," following an untethered, sardonic young woman who falls for an older man and begins to lose herself (Roxane Gay).

Aspiring writer and all-around naive person Allison expected her life to finally take shape when she moved to Los Angeles. After years grieving her brother's untimely death and allowing her mercurial father's feelings and desires to infect her own, she feels ready to become the main character in her own story again. But in LA, as with anywhere else, she's rudderless, unable to write and barely scraping by as an English teacher.

So when she has a serendipitous run in with famed radio personality Reid Steinman, an idol of her father's and her late brother's, she's eager to see where their relationship might go, and who she might become. Caught in his thrall, she falls back into her old self-effacing patterns, struggling to maintain the boundaries of her own identity. Suddenly, an unanticipated lifeline emerges: an intoxicating tryst with Reid's adult daughter, Maddie. She's forced to balance her romance with Reid with her gnawing desire for the intoxicatingly charming Maddie, as it becomes increasingly evident that she and Allison's late brother share more than a few qualities.

Through candid self-awareness, keen observations, and deliciously wry humor, First Time, Long Time asks, what happens to a young woman's goals when she becomes involved with a famous man whose needs seem so much louder than her own? And how might she move forward when so much in her past remains unresolved?

Review Quotes

"One of the kinds of books for which I'm most often asked for recommendations is the elusive novel that's smart but funny, literary but still a good time. I can't believe Amy Silverberg's debut novel isn't in everyone's tote bags right around now. Think of First Time, Long Time as this year's Margot's Got Money Troubles, a book that poses big questions with both confidence and a breeziness and that will keep you wanting to turn the pages."--The Maris Review

"First Time, Long Time uses humor not as decoration but as a coping mechanism, a way for women to maintain some sense of power even when they feel powerless. It's the kind of voice-driven fiction that prioritizes psychological insight over plot mechanics, asking what happens when we become so invested in other people's approval that we forget who we are underneath it all."--BOMB Magazine

"Comedian, writing instructor, and debut novelist Silverberg clearly knows her territory (an author's note reveals that Howard Stern inspired Reid's character). Things get complicated, and Allison's immersion with the Steinmans recalls tensions in her own family unit. But Allison is an able and gifted storyteller, looking back on this time with a kind of awe that she passes onto the reader as she unspools her quiet story with heart, humor, and hard-earned wisdom."--Booklist

"Silverberg packs a punch and gifts readers the funniest debut book of the year."--Debutiful

"[A] funny, high-spirited novel. . . The book humorously describes a lesser-seen side of Los Angeles: the unglamorous neighborhood of Van Nuys, the shame and humiliations of fame, the agony of trying--and failing-- to be someone else, and the thrill of discovering yourself along the way."--Oprah Daily

"It's bold to create a fictional persona with a strong resemblance to the provocateur and radio host Howard Stern. It's even bolder to imagine a love-triangle between an aspiring novelist, the Stern-esque radio host, and his twenty-something daughter. Amy Silverberg has the wit, insight, and gumption to pull it off."--W Magazine

"It's a rare book that can balance humor with existential dread, beauty with wryness. Early in the novel, Allison tells Reid Steinman: 'I read at stoplights. I read all the time.' Amy Silverberg's debut novel First Time, Long Time has me wanting to read at stoplights. I felt propelled, sentence by sentence, scene by scene, to read on and on. This is one of the most enjoyable novels I've read in a long time--for its wit, style, vitality, and pizzazz."--Olivia Clare Friedman, author of Here Lies

"First Time, Long Time by Amy Silverberg is the consummate L.A. story. Here is a brilliant novel about searching for answers that can't be found and making grand mistakes and becoming more the person you're meant to be, all held together by the yearning and striving and ambition of any creative person who finds themselves in the City of Angels. Silverberg is a witty, charming storyteller with a bold, unique voice that makes the writing leap off the page and into your heart."--Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist and Hunger

"Amy Silverberg's First Time, Long Time is not only funny, smart, and tender, it's also so sneakily well-written that you'll be tempted to stop to admire a cool turn-of-phrase instead of plowing through to figure out how her f-ed up heroine gets herself out of the mess she's made for herself. Read it slow or fast - either way, you'll have a great time."--Michael Ian Black, comedian and bestselling author

"From the very first chapter, First Time, Long Time is a charming, enveloping novel about how we obsessively define ourselves through our aching, absurd, and often fraught relationships with other humans. Amy Silverberg writes like an earnest Joan Didion, with dazzling, clear-eyed prose, a blazing, hyper-observant wit, and a heart bigger and brighter than LA County. This is one of the finest literary debuts I've ever read. Silverberg's a massively talented writer. I'm in awe."--Dean Bakopouos, author of Summerlong

"I didn't feel like I was reading this amazing book so much as getting to hang out with it every time I picked it up, relaxing into the voice which I savored on every page. Silverberg is a writer's writer, rewarding us all the time with fresh phrasing that nails an emotional experience, but she's also a person's person-- open, curious, wrestling with what might be true. A thrilling debut."--Aimee Bender, author of The Butterfly Lampshade and The Color Master

"First Time, Long Time is exactly my kind of funny sad. Silverberg is a master of wry observation. She can be cutting one moment and deeply empathetic the next in her almost surgical understanding of human behavior and the strange comedy of our blundering motivations."--Benjamin Percy, author of The Ninth Metal, Red Moon, and Thrill Me

About the Author

Amy Silverberg is a writer and comedian. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing & Literature from USC. Her fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories, The Paris Review, Granta, The Idaho Review, TriQuarterly, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere. Her stand-up has been featured on Comedy Central, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. She also writes television, most recently for "The Movie Show" on the SYFY Channel.