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Laura Rider's Masterpiece Summary and Reviews

Laura Rider's Masterpiece

by Jane Hamilton

Laura Rider's Masterpiece by Jane Hamilton X
Laura Rider's Masterpiece by Jane Hamilton
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  • Published Apr 2009
    224 pages
    Genre: Literary Fiction

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Book Summary

Married for 12 years, Laura and Charlie Rider have come to share almost everything: their nursery business, their love for their animals, and, most especially, their zeal for storytelling. And though they no longer share a bed, they are happy enough continuing along in their pleasant, platonic routine.

Then Charlie begins an email exchange in earnest with Jenna Faroli, the host of a popular radio show, and, according to Laura, "the single most famous person in the town." Seeing her opportunity, Laura cannot resist using Charlie's new connection to promote her writing skills, and together, the couple crafts florid, strangely intimate messages that entice Jenna into their game.

"The Project," as they come to call it, quickly spins out of control. As the lines between Laura's words and Charlie's feelings become blurred, Jenna finds herself effected in ways most disturbing, while Laura is transformed into an artist of the highest caliber—in her own mind. The end results are hilarious and poignant, and for Laura Rider, beyond even her wildest imagination.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Though the plotting is a bit predictable, the female characters are sharply observed and delineated, and the humorous tone will be an appealing surprise." - Publishers Weekly.

This information about Laura Rider's Masterpiece was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Steven R. Syrja

kept laughing
I love all of Jane Hamilton's novels. If you haven't read "A Map of the World," you should (I just read it for a second ime). "Laura Rider's Masterpiece" had me laughing at every page. Hamilton is a delicious writer: she captures her wonderful characters so well that you think you know them. I love the ending, just perfect.

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Author Information

Jane Hamilton Author Biography

janehamiltonbooks.com

Jane Hamilton lives, works, and writes in an orchard farmhouse in Rochester, Wisconsin. She is the author of five novels. Her first novel, The Book of Ruth, won the PEN/Ernest Hemingway Award for best first novel and was a selection of the Oprah Book Club. Her second novel, A Map of the World, was also a selection of the Oprah Book Club and became an international bestseller. Her other works include, The Short History of a Prince (1998), Disobedience (2000), When Madeline Was Young (2006), and Laura Rider's Masterpiece (2009).

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