Lake Effect - by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nest and Good Company comes a wry and tender portrait of two families forever changed by one lovestruck decision that will reverberate for decades.

It's 1977 and an air of restlessness has settled on the residents of Cambridge Road in Rochester, New York, a place long fueled by the booming fortunes of Kodak and Xerox and, for some, the mores of the Catholic church. When Nina Larkin is given a copy of The Joy of Sex by her newly divorced friend, she can no longer dismiss the nearly nonexistent intimacy of her marriage. Just as her oldest child, Clara, is falling in love for the first time, Nina finds herself longing for the forbidden: a midlife awakening. An intoxicating fling with a prominent neighbor brings Nina a freedom she never thought possible--but also risks the reputations of both families and unravels Clara's world, just as she stands on the threshold of adulthood.

Years later, Clara, now a successful food stylist in New York City, has never been able to move past the long-ago scandal. Drawn back home by the pull of a family wedding and wrestling with her own demons, she makes a pivotal decision that turns her life upside down. Written with Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's signature humor and insight, Lake Effect is a wise and probing look at love and desire, mothers and daughters, loss and grief, and what we owe the people we love most.

Review Quotes

"Astute and immersive with a surprising twist." - People

"An insightful, beautiful tearjerker of a book." - Real Simple

"Sharply observed." - Boston Globe

"This is basically Anne Tyler with better sex. . . . . Sweeney carries off something immensely difficult and heartening -- a braiding of hurt and forgiveness, sadness and love, that feels strong enough to last." - Ron Charles, Substack

"A propulsive read that covers everything from intimacy to family dynamics and trust, Lake Effect is a zip of a book." - Marie Claire

"Lake Effect opens in 1977, Rochester, which is so precise you could almost smell it . . . if you like a big, messy family story--this is definitely a book for you." - New York Times Book Review podcast

"Gen X, this is for you." - Parade

"Dazzling . . . Funny . . . Everyone in Sweeney's big-hearted book is given choices and those tiny, blink-or-you'll-miss-it opportunities add up to extraordinary lives." - Star Tribune

"Satisfying. . . . Sweeney captures the zeitgeist of the '70s with key passages in cultural history: along with the divorce spike of those years, the plot weaves in the research at Xerox that ultimately led to the personal computer, the early days of cable food shows, the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic, the way people could disappear in a time before email and smartphones and social media, and more. . . . .Sweeney's insight into all the ways people who love each other end up at bitter odds gives the warm-hearted novel a welcome bite. An inviting family drama with the warmth, interest, and edge readers love in Sweeney's work."

- Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"I absolutely love this book. It is perfection." - Sarah Gelman, CBS Mornings

"Sweeney brings significant psychological acuity to everything from midlife sexuality to adolescent cafeteria drama to postpartum depression." - New York Times Book Review

"A story of desire, jealousy, fragile family bonds, and choices both freeing and haunting, this is a gift from Sweeney." - Library Journal (starred review)

"A reverberating, intergenerational family saga . . . Artful [and] fresh." - Booklist (starred)

"Sweeney excels at exploring how the characters are shaped over time by their complex family dynamics. (As Clara's new boyfriend puts it: 'People change. We change. Sometimes for the better.') The author's fans will enjoy this." - Publishers Weekly

"Sweeney writes with clarity, compassion, a bit of humor and an emphasis on food. . . One of the book's epigraphs is from M.F.K. Fisher, who reminds the reader that when she wrote of hunger she wrote of love. In Lake Effect, Sweeney does the same." - BookPage

"[A] warm and self-deprecating novel of family life." - Zoomer

"Layered, rich and full of surprises, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's Lake Effect is a heartfelt, kaleidoscopic portrait of how, in the ecosystem of family, one seismic decision can reverberate for decades. With tremendous insight, and sometimes sensuous prose, D'Aprix Sweeney has crafted a story with so much life, it grabs at your heart and keeps you wanting more." - Xochitl Gonzalez, author of Anita de Monte Laughs Last

"A sparkling novel of love and family and the wreckage of a passionate affair. Lake Effect is tender and bittersweet, a joyful classic in the making." - Jenny Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street

"Lake Effect is utterly compelling and beautifully told. Tracing the far-reaching tremors of an affair, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney takes a familiar premise and makes it feel entirely new and original. Moving nimbly between viewpoints, she illuminates even her characters' darkest, most regrettable moments with clarity and insight." - Florence Knapp, author of The Names

"Lake Effect pulled me right into its messy, intimate web of neighbors, lovers, mothers, and daughters. Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney brings warmth and humor to this nuanced exploration of betrayal and its echoes, drawing each character's perspective so finely that I could swear I know these people. I could not put it down!" - Shelby Van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures