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Published Jun 2023
336 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
The paths of two women on opposite ends of a high-profile sexual abuse scandal set them on a devastating collision course.
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?
BookBrowse Review
"Helen Schulman's novel, Lucky Dogs, is inspired by the #MeToo movement and Ronan Farrow's exposee in the New Yorker about Harvey Weinstein's use of Black Cube, an Israeli spy agency, to intimidate Rose McGowan. Lucky Dogs sears with the indignation and anger of systematic rape, abuse of power, and misogyny. Schulman's writing is inventive, playful, and shows a mastery of language. At the same time, there is a lack of complexity and development in the characters and their interplay with one another. Additionally, there is an acerbic dark humor throughout that ends the novel in an almost flippant manner, taking away from any emotional depth and seriousness of the issues Schulman is exploring."—Jennifer Hon Khalaf
Other Reviews
"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 review)
"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
"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
This information about Lucky Dogs 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.
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.
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