Hilma Wolitzer – författare

In her first work of fiction in more than a decade, award-winning novelist Hilma Wolitzer brilliantly renders the intimate details of ordinary life and exposes a host of hidden truths. The Doctor’s Daughter is a haunting portrait of a woman coming to terms with her family history and the fallibility of memory.One morning, Alice Brill awakes with a sudden awareness that something is wrong. There’s a hollowness in her chest, and a sensation of dread that she can’t identify or shake. Was it something she’s done, or forgotten to do? As she scours her mind for the source of her unease, she confronts an array of disturbing possibilities.First, there is her marriage, a once vibrant relationship that now languishes stasis. Then there’s her idle, misdirected younger son, who always needs bailing out of some difficulty. Or perhaps Alice’s trepidation is caused by the loss of her career as an editor at a large publishing house, and the new path she’s paved for herself as a freelance book doctor. Or it might be the real doctor in her life: her father. Formerly one of New York’s top surgeons, he now rests in a nursing home, his mind gripped by dementia. And the Eden that was Alice’s childhood–the material benefits and reflected glory of being a successful doctor’s daughter, the romance of her parents’ famously perfect marriage–makes her own domestic life seem fatally flawed. While struggling to find the root of her restlessness, Alice is buoyed by her discovery of a talented new writer, a man who works by day as a machinist in Michigan. Soon their interactions and feelings intensify, and Alice realizes that the mystery she’s been trying to solve lies not in the present, as she had assumed, but in the past–and in the secrets of a marriage that was never as perfect as it appeared.Like the best works of Anne Tyler, Sue Miller, and Gail Godwin, The Doctor’s Daughter is private yet universal, luminous and revelatory–and marks the reemergence of a singular talent in American writing.From the Hardcover edition.

Linda and Robin Reismann barely know each other. The only thing that connects them is Linda’s six-week-old marriage to Robin’s father, who has suddenly died. Widowed at twenty-six, Linda is heading to California to start over, uncertain what the future holds. In the trunk of her car, she carries her husband’s amateur paintings, along with his ashes. Robin, her silent, angry teenage stepdaughter, about to be left with relatives she’s never met, carries a private stash of pot and some closely guarded secrets. But these two women, journeying on a road alongside drifters and dreamers, lovers and liars, will discover something they never expected to find–between them and inside their hearts.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Can reading change your life?Following her acclaimed novel The Doctor’s Daughter, award-winning author Hilma Wolitzer has now written a stirring tale about friendship, romance, inspiration, longing, and, especially, the love of good books. Summer Reading offers a seductive glimpse into the intersecting lives of three very different women.Summer in the Hamptons means crowded beaches during the day and lavish parties in the evening, but Angela Graves, a retired English professor, prefers the company of Gabriel García Márquez and Charlotte Brontë. Her only steady social contacts are with the women in the reading groups she leads, among them, is wealthy Lissy Snyder, a beautiful newlywed who hosts the twice-monthly meetings of the Page Turners and takes pains to hide a reading disability and her emotional neediness. Hamptons local Michelle Cutty, Lissy’s housecleaner, eavesdrops on the group’s discussions–of books and gossip–when she’s not snooping through Lissy’s closets. All three women secretly struggle with troubling personal issues that threaten the tenuous balance of their lives: Lissy, abandoned by her father in childhood, is now the unwilling stepmother of her husband’s hostile children; Michelle, resentful of the moneyed arrogance of the jet-setting, seasonal “invaders,” can’t secure a commitment from her fisherman boyfriend; and solitary, bookish Angela still bears the shameful memory of a disastrous love affair that took place long ago.As Angela encourages the Page Turners to identify with the literary heroines of Trollope and Flaubert, the books–in fact, the act of reading itself–will influence the tough choices the women must make. Stunningly evocative and richly imagined, Summer Reading explores the meaning and consequences of living an authentic life.From the Hardcover edition.

In this tender and funny novel, award-winning author Hilma Wolitzer mines the unpredictable fallout of suddenly becoming single later in life, and the chaos and joys of falling in love the second time around. When Edward Schuyler, a modest and bookish sixty-two-year-old science teacher, is widowed, he finds himself ambushed by female attention. There are plenty of unattached women around, but a healthy, handsome, available man is a rare and desirable creature. Edward receives phone calls from widows seeking love, or at least lunch, while well-meaning friends try to set him up at dinner parties. Even an attractive married neighbor offers herself to him.The problem is that Edward doesn’t feel available. He’s still mourning his beloved wife, Bee, and prefers solitude and the familiar routine of work, gardening, and bird-watching. But then his stepchildren surprise him by placing a personal ad in The New York Review of Books on his behalf. Soon the letters flood in, and Edward is torn between his loyalty to Bee’s memory and his growing longing for connection. Gradually, reluctantly, he begins dating (“dating after death,” as one correspondent puts it), and his encounters are variously startling, comical, and sad. Just when Edward thinks he has the game figured out, a chance meeting proves that love always arrives when it’s least expected.With wit, warmth, and a keen understanding of the heart, An Available Man explores aspects of loneliness and togetherness, and the difference in the options open to men and women of a certain age. Most of all, the novel celebrates the endurance of love, and its thrilling capacity to bloom anew.Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more.   “Funny, wise and touching.”—The Washington Post   “Wonderful . . . [Hilma] Wolitzer’s vision of the world, for all its sorrow, is often hilarious and always compassionate.”—The New York Times Book Review   “Smart and poignant, An Available Man explores some universal truths—that the past is never past, life is for the living, and dating is really, really hard.”—O: The Oprah Magazine   “Charming . . . Wolitzer is a champ at the closely observed, droll novel of manners.”—NPR   “[Hilma Wolitzer is an] American literary treasure.”—The Boston Globe   “A deeply satisfying story of love lost and found.”—Bookreporter

Pregnant, recently widowed, and hoping for transformation, a young woman moves to Los Angeles with her teenage stepdaughterLinda has known only a few worthwhile men, and the good ones have a nasty habit of dying young. While teaching at the Newark branch of the Fred Astaire Dance Studio she meets Wright, who has a Mustang and a thirteen-year-old daughter, Robin. Soon enough Linda and Wright are married and pregnant, but just six weeks after the wedding he drops dead, leaving Linda with little besides the car and the girl. Unsure what else to do, Linda packs Robin into the Mustang and sets off for Los Angeles, toward a promise of a new and better life. Robin is surly, cynical, and addicted to junk food—in short, a typical teenager. But as Linda''s pregnancy progresses and they try to make their way in the City of Angels, this unlikely pair will forge an unexpected emotional connection. Hilma Wolitzer''s storytelling recalls the best work of Anne Tyler and Gail Godwin, and her wit shines through in this tale of improbable allegiances and contained grief. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hilma Wolitzer, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author''s personal collection.

Silver revisits Paulette and Howard, the couple introduced in In the Flesh, and a marriage, once miraculously mended, faces its end againPaulette has decided to leave her husband. As the twenty-fifth anniversary of their hasty marriage nears, the thought of another year sleeping alongside Howard feels suffocating. Though they were happy years ago, he has always resented her for trapping him with her pregnancy, forcing him—as he sees it—into married life and the end of his youthful fun. They have both been unfaithful, and the wounds of their past indiscretions have never fully healed. And so she''s made the decision to leave him—but her plans are derailed when Howard suffers a sudden heart attack. Thrown into action by Howard''s fragile health, Paulette must decide whose survival is more important. He may not live through her desertion, but can she give up her determination for a new beginning? In Silver, Hilma Wolitzer delivers a sensitive, thought-provoking, and startlingly frank novel of old ties and the yearning to start again.

A woman rediscovers herself as her domestic life crumbles in this novel of mid-century marriage by the author of Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket. It’s 1957, and Paulette has just gotten into trouble in the backseat of a car. Her beau, Howard, is a handsome musician with an ability to inspire lust that she has never encountered before. So, although some women in her position might choose a different path, Paulette persuades Howard to get married.  After a small ceremony, the happy couple takes up residence on the nineteenth floor of a high rise in Forest Hills. For a time they are shockingly happy, but then things start to go wrong. And when Howard’s eye begins to wander, Paulette must ask herself: If a person lives for love alone, what happens when the love disappears? This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hilma Wolitzer, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

Hilma Wolitzer''s acclaimed first novel—a powerful portrait of a family coming to terms with griefAt night, Sandy feels the pain of separation most deeply. As she settles into bed, she misses the sounds Jay used to make as he emptied his pockets and undressed. She misses the way a playful nighttime conversation could become significant in an instant. She misses his touch. To fall asleep, she imagines Jay''s voice, imagines their loving exchanges—but she cannot imagine lying in his arms. Jay is in the hospital now, his body wasting away from cancer. As the disease progresses, he and Sandy try to come to terms with the fact that he will never come home again—and that his children will soon lose their father forever. Poignant and raw, Ending is a finely rendered look at love, loss, and survival. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hilma Wolitzer, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author''s personal collection.

Award-winning novelist Hilma Wolitzer’s warm, true-to-life tale of a young woman on a quest for love and certainty Daphne has never met a man who treated her as well as Kenny. The only problem is he’s married. Intoxicated by love in the afternoon, she luxuriates in his affection, but the afterglow fades when Kenny drives home to his wife and children. Although he promises Daphne that he’ll leave them, she’s not sure he will ever be able to give up his family. As Kenny tries to make up his mind about ending his marriage, Daphne finds herself with nothing to look forward to but their stolen hours together. She distracts herself with work in the Palomar Arms, a retirement home where decay hangs in the air. But this proximity to death will make Daphne aware that she is wasting her life.  This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hilma Wolitzer, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

The award-winning author’s tips on writing groups and networking: “Witty, insightful and generous . . . a must-read for anyone who wants to write” (Judy Blume). When Hilma Wolitzer finished writing her first short story, she had no idea what to do next. She didn’t trust her family members to give honest critiques, and most of her friends—though they tried to be helpful—knew little about writing fiction. But her creative life changed when she attended a local writing workshop and discovered the joys of working within an artistic community.  Since good workshops and conferences are often expensive or difficult to find, Wolitzer provides a guide to building a workshop of your own. With dedication and drive, an informal writer’s group can become as useful as any college course—and much more fun. Wolitzer shows how to build a group, how to make it effective, and how to keep going when a member hits a snag. She also offers solid advice on many aspects of writing and publishing fiction. Writing may be a solitary occupation, but in the company of writers, it never needs to be lonely. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hilma Wolitzer, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

After her parents'' divorce, Teddy realizes that love is not as easy as it looksIn Teddy''s daydreams, the elevator is never broken and her father comes home every day. But in reality, her dad has a new home and a new wife, Shelley, who is glamorous in a way Teddy''s mother could never be. Still, Teddy holds out hope that one day her dad will come to his senses—and when she finds a shoebox full of faded love letters in the closet, she knows her mother is hoping for the same thing. In the letters, her father calls her mother "my own true love." If Teddy can just fix her mom up a little bit, maybe her dad will realize he loves her still. But after exercise classes, a visit from the Avon lady, and a furious campaign to get her mom to stop smoking, Teddy learns that real love is far more complex than those old letters make it seem. And though her parents love and support her, Teddy''s perceptions of her family will have to change. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hilma Wolitzer, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author''s personal collection.

As World War II rages, a sixth-grader from Brooklyn battles adolescenceEven while the air-raid sirens blare, Shirley Braverman isn''t worried. Her father is the air-raid warden for their apartment house, and she knows he will keep them safe. There is a war on the other side of the ocean, but here in Brooklyn, life goes on. People ride trolleys, they go to double features at the movies, and they cheer on the Dodgers, win or lose. Shirley is also the best speller in her school''s sixth grade, and she has her eyes on an even bigger title: spelling champion of New York City. When she''s not practicing, Shirley takes care of her younger brother, Theodore—a clumsy kid who''s scared of everything that moves, and some things that don''t. But to win the spelling bee, she will have to listen to what she''s always telling Theodore: Believe in yourself, and don''t be afraid. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hilma Wolitzer, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author''s personal collection.

While in foster care, Toby and her sister learn what "family" really meansWhen Toby''s father dies in a car accident, her mother gets a new job and a cheaper apartment. At first it seems as if everything might be all right, but soon the pressure gets to be too much. Toby''s mother stops cooking, stops talking, and starts crying or laughing at random times. When she is committed to a rest home, Toby and her sister, Anne, are placed in foster care  against their will.. The Selwyns are a kind couple, but nothing about their house feels like home. The artwork is tacky, the music is lame, and the kitchen table is depressing yellow Formica. But in her simple little bedroom, Toby finds a haven. As she and her sister struggle to adjust to their scary new life, she learns that family is what you make it, and home can be anywhere you feel at peace. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hilma Wolitzer, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author''s personal collection.

Bernie only needs $99 for freedom, but he can''t make a dimeBernie Segal has a lot of normal problems—like algebra, his height, and a sister who insists he help her learn her lines for the stupid school play. But he also has a lot of not-so-normal problems, like dealing with his father''s death. His mother is about to remarry, and the thought of having a new man around the house makes Bernie sick. To get out of being at the wedding, Bernie decides to fly to Miami to live with his grandfather. All he needs is $99 for airfare—but where is he going to get the money? Bernie''s asthma means he can''t do anything strenuous, like having a paper route, so he''s forced to take lame jobs, even babysitting, to get the cash. But as the date for his great escape approaches, Bernie begins to wonder if he''s really trying to run away from the wedding and his new stepfather, or if he is running from himself. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hilma Wolitzer, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author''s personal collection.

Bernie only needs $99 for freedom, but he can’t make a dimeBernie Segal has a lot of normal problems—like algebra, his height, and a sister who insists he help her learn her lines for the stupid school play. But he also has a lot of not-so-normal problems, like dealing with his father’s death. His mother is about to remarry, and the thought of having a new man around the house makes Bernie sick. To get out of being at the wedding, Bernie decides to fly to Miami to live with his grandfather. All he needs is $99 for airfare—but where is he going to get the money? Bernie’s asthma means he can’t do anything strenuous, like having a paper route, so he’s forced to take lame jobs, even babysitting, to get the cash. But as the date for his great escape approaches, Bernie begins to wonder if he’s really trying to run away from the wedding and his new stepfather, or if he is running from himself. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hilma Wolitzer, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

A TIME 'New Books You Should Read'A People magazine 'Book of the Week'A New York Times Editors' ChoiceWith a foreword by Elizabeth Strout‘Electric: with wit, with rage, with grief, with the kind of prose that makes you both laugh and thrill to the darker, spikier emotions just barely visible under the bright surface. What a wonderful collection of stories’ Lauren GroffAnother day! And then another and another and another. It seemed as if it would all go on forever in that exquisitely boring and beautiful way. But of course it wouldn’t; everyone knows that.In this collection, Hilma Wolitzer invites us inside the private world of domestic bliss, seen mostly through the lens of Paulie and Howard’s gloriously ordinary marriage.From hasty weddings to meddlesome neighbours, ex-wives who just won’t leave, to sleepless nights spent worrying about unanswered chainmail, Wolitzer captures the tensions, contradictions and unexpected detours of daily life with wit, candour and an acutely observant eye.Including stories first published in magazines in the 1960s and 1970s – alongside new writing from Wolitzer, now in her nineties – Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket reintroduces a beloved writer to be embraced by a new generation of readers.‘A fascinating time capsule of womanhood, marriage and motherhood over the last century … A fabulous book’ Emma Straub‘Immensely gratifying, poignant, funny … Breathtaking’ Elizabeth Strout, from the foreword

A TIME ''New Books You Should Read''A People magazine ''Book of the Week''A New York Times Editors'' ChoiceWith a foreword by Elizabeth Strout ''Electric: with wit, with rage, with grief, with the kind of prose that makes you both laugh and thrill to the darker, spikier emotions just barely visible under the bright surface. What a wonderful collection of stories'' Lauren Groff Another day! And then another and another and another. It seemed as if it would all go on forever in that exquisitely boring and beautiful way. But of course it wouldn''t; everyone knows that.In this collection, Hilma Wolitzer invites us inside the private world of domestic bliss, seen mostly through the lens of Paulie and Howard''s gloriously ordinary marriage.From hasty weddings to meddlesome neighbours, ex-wives who just won''t leave, to sleepless nights spent worrying about unanswered chainmail, Wolitzer captures the tensions, contradictions and unexpected detours of daily life with wit, candour and an acutely observant eye.Including stories first published in magazines in the 1960s and 1970s – alongside new writing from Wolitzer, now in her nineties – Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket reintroduces a beloved writer to be embraced by a new generation of readers.''A fascinating time capsule of womanhood, marriage and motherhood over the last century … A fabulous book'' Emma Straub ''Immensely gratifying, poignant, funny … Breathtaking'' Elizabeth Strout, from the foreword

A TIME ''New Books You Should Read''A People magazine ''Book of the Week''A New York Times Editors'' ChoiceWith a foreword by Elizabeth Strout ''Electric: with wit, with rage, with grief, with the kind of prose that makes you both laugh and thrill to the darker, spikier emotions just barely visible under the bright surface. What a wonderful collection of stories'' Lauren Groff Another day! And then another and another and another. It seemed as if it would all go on forever in that exquisitely boring and beautiful way. But of course it wouldn''t; everyone knows that.In this collection, Hilma Wolitzer invites us inside the private world of domestic bliss, seen mostly through the lens of Paulie and Howard''s gloriously ordinary marriage.From hasty weddings to meddlesome neighbours, ex-wives who just won''t leave, to sleepless nights spent worrying about unanswered chainmail, Wolitzer captures the tensions, contradictions and unexpected detours of daily life with wit, candour and an acutely observant eye.Including stories first published in magazines in the 1960s and 1970s – alongside new writing from Wolitzer, now in her nineties – Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket reintroduces a beloved writer to be embraced by a new generation of readers.''A fascinating time capsule of womanhood, marriage and motherhood over the last century … A fabulous book'' Emma Straub ''Immensely gratifying, poignant, funny … Breathtaking'' Elizabeth Strout, from the foreword

A TIME 'New Books You Should Read'A People magazine 'Book of the Week'A New York Times Editors' ChoiceWith a foreword by Elizabeth Strout‘Electric: with wit, with rage, with grief, with the kind of prose that makes you both laugh and thrill to the darker, spikier emotions just barely visible under the bright surface. What a wonderful collection of stories’ Lauren GroffAnother day! And then another and another and another. It seemed as if it would all go on forever in that exquisitely boring and beautiful way. But of course it wouldn’t; everyone knows that.In this collection, Hilma Wolitzer invites us inside the private world of domestic bliss, seen mostly through the lens of Paulie and Howard’s gloriously ordinary marriage.From hasty weddings to meddlesome neighbours, ex-wives who just won’t leave, to sleepless nights spent worrying about unanswered chainmail, Wolitzer captures the tensions, contradictions and unexpected detours of daily life with wit, candour and an acutely observant eye.Including stories first published in magazines in the 1960s and 1970s – alongside new writing from Wolitzer, now in her nineties – Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket reintroduces a beloved writer to be embraced by a new generation of readers.‘A fascinating time capsule of womanhood, marriage and motherhood over the last century … A fabulous book’ Emma Straub‘Immensely gratifying, poignant, funny … Breathtaking’ Elizabeth Strout, from the foreword