Gossip - by Beth Gutcheon (Paperback)

About the Book

"A gifted storyteller...her characters are intelligent, brave, and witty...human and real."--Susan Isaacs, New York Times Book Review

The critically acclaimed author of Good-bye and Amen, Leeway Cottage, and More Than You Know, Beth Gutcheon returns with Gossip, a sharply perceptive and emotionally resonant novel about the power of knowing things about others, the consequences of rumor, and the unexpected price of friendship. A story set among the rich, famous, and well-dressed of Manhattan's Upper East Side, Gossip is a bravura display of this exceptional author's breathtaking talents, addressing important themes of motherhood, friendship, and fidelity. Every reader who admires the strong, character-driven women's fiction of Sue Miller, Alice Hoffman, Elizabeth Berg, and Kaye Gibbons should lend an ear to Beth Gutcheon's Gossip.

Book Synopsis

"A gifted storyteller...her characters are intelligent, brave, and witty...human and real."
--Susan Isaacs, New York Times Book Review

The critically acclaimed author of Good-bye and Amen, Leeway Cottage, and More Than You Know, Beth Gutcheon returns with Gossip, a sharply perceptive and emotionally resonant novel about the power of knowing things about others, the consequences of rumor, and the unexpected price of friendship. A story set among the rich, famous, and well-dressed of Manhattan's Upper East Side, Gossip is a bravura display of this exceptional author's breathtaking talents, addressing important themes of motherhood, friendship, and fidelity. Every reader who admires the strong, character-driven women's fiction of Sue Miller, Alice Hoffman, Elizabeth Berg, and Kaye Gibbons should lend an ear to Beth Gutcheon's Gossip.

From the Back Cover

The owner of a small high-end dress shop on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Loviah "Lovie" French is the one to whom certain women turn when they want to dish in the dressing room--including Lovie's two best friends since boarding school, Dinah Wainwright and Avis Metcalf.

Outspoken Dinah made a name for herself as a columnist covering New York's most fabulous; shy, proper Avis rose to prominence in the art world with her quiet manners and hard work. Despite their deep affection for Lovie, they have been allergic to each other for decades, uneasy acquaintances who are unwillingly bound to each other when Dinah's favorite son and Avis's only daughter fall in love. At the center of their orbit is Lovie, who knows everyone's secrets and manages them as wisely as she can. Which is not wisely enough, as things turn out--a fact that will have a shattering effect on all their lives.

Review Quotes

"[E]nthralling . . . triumphant and true." - Boston Globe

"[C]ompellingly drawn...A true New England novel, charming but a bit chilly." - Kirkus Reviews on GOOD-BYE AND AMEN

"[C]ompelling...Beautifully written and told from varying points of view, this sweeping saga will strike a chord with anyone who loves to read about family. Four stars." - Romantic Times on GOOD-BYE AND AMEN

"A great drama, cinematically told . . . [Gutcheon] writes elegantly about the complex bonds of family." - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"A remarkably rich and emotionally jarring novel filled ultimately with hope." - Pages Magazine

"[Gutcheon] writes poignantly, but with a sharp comic edge, about female friendship, the bleakness of fate and the disappointments fo lvoe; and her grasp of the profound connection between clothes and emotion--a theme inexplicably neglected in the moderl novel--recalls Nancy Mitford at her more seriously frivolous." - The Sunday Telegraph

"This compelling story is full of emotions--heartache, love, frustrations, and even a generous dose of humor. But it is the compelling sense of friendship and loyatly between the characters that is the star attraction of this book, and Gutcheon proves her mastery as a consummate storyteller with the spellbinding novel." - Ventura County Star on GOSSIP

"A graceful and elegant novel that explores the unintended damage simmering hostility and sharing confidences can bring, Gossip builds to a stunning and devastating finish." - Booklist on GOSSIP

"GOSSIP is compelling story full of many emotions, heartache, love, frustrations, and even a generous dose of humor....Gutcheon proves her mastery as a consummate storyteller with this spellbinding novel." - Fresh Fiction on GOSSIP

"An unpretentious tale of freindship among the well-heeled that is both a page-turner and day-brightener." - Kirkus Reviews

"An endearing urban fairytale filled with surprises." - San Francisco Chronicle

"Lively and engaging...Ms. Gutcheon knows her craft." - New York Times Book Review

"The dialogue is convincing and well-paced. The suspense is strung out for maximum effect. The images are vivid and uncluttered This [is] a book that is tough to put down." - USA Today

"The importance of connections between women is highlighted in this story of friendship and support among a group of five women." - Booklist

"A good old-fashioned, all-encompassing read, with tears and smiles guaranteed." - Library Journal

"Editor's Choice." - Denver Post on GOOD-BYE AND AMEN

"Good-Bye and Amen is a tour de force of structure and voice. Gutcheon had me at the first sentence and I didn't put the book down until I had finished it. Marvelous and memorable." - Karen Joy Fowler, author of Wit's End and The Jane Austen Book Club

"The book reads seamlessly...Gutcheon is a novelist with a poetic grasp of the language and a keen eye for the quirks and foibles that make us human. " - San Antonio Express-News on GOOD-BYE AND AMEN