Loved One - by Aisha Muharrar (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A tender story "about who we love and who we are" (Town & Country), from an Emmy Award-winning writer of Hacks, Parks and Recreation, and The Good Place

After falling in love one summer in Barcelona, Gabe and Julia went their separate ways--she to college, and he to pursue his dream of becoming a singer-songwriter. Years later, they reconnected in LA, forming a close friendship each of them relied on throughout their messy twenties.

But on the cusp of Julia's thirtieth birthday, Gabe, now a semi-famous indie musician, suffers a tragic accident and is found dead in his hotel room. Disoriented and in shock, Julia ruminates on their ambiguous relationship history as she embarks on an international journey. Ostensibly, she's going to London to meet Gabe's last love, Elizabeth, in order to bring some of his belongings home to his mother. But Julia's true purpose--which she obscures even from herself--is to find out, once and for all, who she and Gabe were to each other. Does she really want to know the answer?

Review Quotes

"A genuine pleasure to read."--Vogue

"Funny, heartwrenching."--People

"A writer and producer on Parks and Recreation, The Good Place and Hacks, the Emmy winner [Aisha Muharrar] has experience handling high-concept plots and humor with an undertow of earnestness. That's on display here, with a premise that sounds like it could be compelling TV too."--NPR

"Poignant and engrossing... subtle and elegant."--NPR, All Things Considered

"A meditation on grief, friendship and memory."--USA Today

"Loved One by Emmy-winning TV writer Aisha Muharrar poignantly examines loss while incorporating tons of humor and charm."--Real Simple

"This warm, heartfelt novel teems with compassion for its characters, and rather than wallowing in sadness, it celebrates the joy of connections, especially those cut short." --Oprah Daily

"Loved One is full of charm and seamless pop culture references as it twists the classic love triangle story, touching on romance, grief, art and the 'what ifs' of life." --Newsweek

"Debut novelist Aisha Muharrar was involved in three television comedies, "Hacks", "Parks and Recreation", and "The Good Place"...the opening scene of Loved One could be a set piece for any of these shows, as we jump inside the head of our narrator, 30-year-old Julia, who is delivering the eulogy at a friend's funeral, a popular indie musician at the time of his death." --Associated Press

"Sumptuous." --W Magazine

"You will laugh, you will cry, you will roll your eyes at the protagonist. You might relate too painfully to some elements.... but you won't regret sitting down with [this] sweet, tender-hearted novel."--Jezebel

"Sly, irreverent, and emotionally sophisticated... A where-did-I-go-wrong style excavation. If you also love that structure--and nuanced depictions of heartbreak--let's put a book club on the books."--LitHub

"One of the summer's most anticipated books."--The Hollywood Reporter

"Aisha Muharrar's debut novel ticked off all the boxes I could want in a summer read and even drew in a couple of its own.... Every emotion and nerve her writing touches on is well-earned, whether its a light chuckle or tear in your eye."-- Conde Nast Traveler

"Muharrar explores the lies we tell ourselves with wry humor and compassion, equally adept at mining the inherent comedy of human nature while understanding why we keep secrets even from ourselves."--Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"A multilayered exploration of the unreliability of memory, grief, loss, and complicated relationships told with humor and compassion."-Boston Globe

"Both hilarious and heartbreaking." --theSkimm

"A moving and layered debut."-Women's World

"A crown jewel in the comedy world cabinet, Muharrar's written for belly-laugh factories like Hacks, The Good Place, and Parks & Rec. Her debut novel feels of a tonal piece with all those shows--sly, irreverent, and emotionally sophisticated."--Literary Hub

"Muharrar endears with her candid portrayal of messy emotions... This brims with insights into the blurry boundaries between love and friendship."--Publishers Weekly

"Readers will be immediately... captivated by Muharrar's skillful threading of alternating timelines to get the complete picture of [a] friendship... Muharrar's descriptions and scene settings are decadent."--Library Journal

"Loved One is special. This is the funniest book you'll ever read about grief, and it's full of wildly astute, delectably thorny questions about love and loss and possession." --Maggie Shipstead, New York Times bestselling author of Great Circle

"Loved One shimmers with wit even as it explores deep loss. What does it mean to love and lose? How do we undo--and make--each other? Aisha Muharrar asks enduring questions while acknowledging how funny they can be, too. This is a book I will be pressing, urgently, into the hands of my own loved ones." --Rachel Khong, New York Times bestselling author of Real Americans

"Aisha Muharrar has written the type of book you don't just read, you consume. It's equal parts hilarious, poignant, and thrilling. I was so engrossed I forgot to pick my kids up from school, so I'm also mad at her." --Casey Wilson, actress, comedian, podcaster, and New York Times bestselling author of The Wreckage of My Presence

"Warm-hearted, funny, and written with style and panache, Loved One is both wise and a pleasure to read. I tore through it, from page one until its moving final pages. A terrific novel." --Adelle Waldman, author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.

"Stylish, perceptive, witty and generous. An instant classic."--Emma Forrest, author of Your Voice in My Head

About the Author