Lucky Dogs - by Helen Schulman (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The paths of two women on opposite ends of a high-profile sexual abuse scandal set them on a devastating collision course.

"Part thriller, part Hollywood satire, Lucky Dogs is a brash, sometimes heartbreaking saga in which trauma and self-preservation converge across decades and continents. This is Helen Schulman's best novel yet."--Jennifer Egan, best-selling author of A Visit from the Goon Squad and The Candy House

On a sultry summer night in Paris, two women meet in line at an ice cream kiosk on the Ile de la Cité. One is tall, fair, striking, with an indeterminate accent. The other, a troubled American TV star, is hiding her beauty and identity under a shapeless sweatshirt, wearing sunglasses even in the darkness. When leering male tourists hassle the pair, the blonde pulls out a knife and a sisterhood is born. Both women have been victims of male violence, and both are warriors--one trained and calculating, one instinctually ferocious. They each think they know who they are dealing with. But both are very, very wrong.

In a story that unfolds with unexpected humor and the pace of a thriller, acclaimed novelist Helen Schulman lays bare what happens to women--no matter how fortunate they may appear to be on the surface--whose lives have been warped by brutality and misogyny. The issues are universal, but the core of the story is intimate: a passionate exploration of love, betrayal, and survival. Lucky Dogs asks and answers a shattering question: How could one woman so utterly betray another?

Review Quotes

"Daringly creative . . . Deeply knowing, properly indignant and--maybe the best revenge--very funny . . . The novel has the sizzle of two jumper cables coming together."--Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times

"Part thriller, part Hollywood satire, Lucky Dogs is a brash, sometimes heartbreaking saga in which trauma and self-preservation converge across decades and continents. This is Helen Schulman's best novel yet."--Jennifer Egan, author of The Candy House

"Lucky Dogs is dazzling - a propulsive novel brimming with insight into power, betrayal, and obsession. It's a showcase for Schulman's extraordinary gifts as a writer: her sharp observation, buoyant wit, and unfailing empathy."--Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies

"Crackling with wit and daring insight, Lucky Dogs is a sharp-toothed exploration of trauma--the way it rewrites the soul, and its catastrophic fallout. Schulman understands the choreography of betrayal and risk like no other, skillfully mapping the hidden corners of her characters' hearts."--Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun

"Written with Schulman's characteristic brilliance, subtlety and social insight, Lucky Dogs is an exploration of the complicated and twisting relationship between women on opposite ends of a high-profile scandal. Unapologetic, searing, lit with humor and wit, it is a novel to be savored."--Jean Kwok, author of Girl in Translation

"Out of the inferno that was the Harvey Weinstein imbroglio--and the high-wire imagination of Helen Schulman--comes a witty and insightful tale of two women . . . [that] will take your breath away."--Oprah Daily

"A work of fiction that should be read and discussed widely. Part mystery, part thriller, and at its heart an examination of why and how women can treat each other so callously and despicably, it's tough to set down. Ironically, it would make a tremendous movie." --Library Journal, starred review

"This is a brilliant book: powerful, witty, sharp, and urgent."--Meg Wolitzer, author of The Interestings

"In a word: wow . . . Schulman has engineered a series of breathtaking aha moments, set to go off like timed explosives . . . Her finest work to date."--Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"This novel turns everything we know on its head."--Zibby Owens, Good Morning America

"Sleek and twisty."--Marion Winik, Newsday

"An incisive and thrilling account of women who are hounded by powerful men . . . Meredith and Nina's intriguing relationship will keep readers on the hook as it evolves and leads to a surprising outcome. This packs plenty of punch."--Publishers Weekly

"Devastating . . . clever and creative."--New York Post

"Underscores Schulman's gifts as a writer, one of those daughters of Didion . . . capable of fitting a world into a short sentence, and a person into a few sharply chosen words."--Air Mail

"Propulsive."--Nylon

"Schulman has a knack for writing indelible and affecting scenes. And she presents a nice contrast between the lives of privileged Hollywood types and those whose circumstances are substantially more challenging. Lucky Dogs howls with rage but doesn't offer easy answers. Talk about impressive." --ShelfAwareness

"A riveting, immersive, and complex journey that is not easy to put down or forget."--Jennifer Gilmore, The Forward

"[Schulman is] one of the most interesting writers working today, one who dares to look at the shifting contemporary landscape we live in and ask how the individuals dwelling within these pressure points feel, think, and push back against their situations. In doing so, she brings incredible vitality and complexity to our present, and gives a human aperture to worlds that might otherwise feel impenetrable." --The Brooklyn Rail

About the Author

HELEN SCHULMAN is the New York Times best-selling author of six novels, including Come with Me and This Beautiful Life. Schulman has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts, Sundance, Aspen Words, and Columbia University. She lives in New York City.