Layover

By Lisa Zeidner

A smart and sexy novel about a woman on the edge, soon to be a major film

”Subtle, astute… Zeidner joins the ranks of Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood and Fay Weldon”
New York Times Book Review, Notable Book of the Year

Claire Newbold is not your typical heroine. Smart and sexy, yes, but she's also been known to sneak into a hotel room or two without paying, seduce a teenager in wet bathing trunks, and just check out of things altogether - like her job. And her marriage.

Grieving the loss of her only child, and unsure of what's to become of her relationship, Claire takes a leave of absence from everyday life. She moves from hotel to hotel, basking in the anonymity of travel and forbidden sex, struggling to understand herself. Who has she become? And how will she ever find redemption?

"A moving portrait of a woman who reclaims her life... Zeidner skillfully charts the map of Claire's vulnerable heart... a wicked sendup of contemporary life"
Publishers Weekly

"A sharp and wryly moving portrait of a woman in the midst of a breakdown... A wise and satisfying read"
Kirkus Reviews

Lisa Zeidner has published five novels, including the critically acclaimed Layover, and two books of poems. Her stories, reviews, and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Slate, GQ, Tin House and elsewhere. She directs the MFA program in creative writing at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ONE
• Release date: Jul 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781911590026

Lisa Zeidner

Lisa Zeidner has published four novels, including the critically acclaimed Layover, and two books of poems. Her stories, reviews, and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Slate, GQ, Tin House, and elsewhere. She directs the M.F.A. program in creative writing at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey.

Reviews for Layover

[manque_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As hard-boiled as anything Raymond Chandler ever wrote, with hard surfaces and a compelling modern view. Hard, but not quite hopeless, nor merely depressing or depressed. Perhaps the main flaw lies in the heroine's never having a moment of true vulnerability, so that the reader never has the chance to fully empathize. The narrative is so self-assured, even when describing the process of mental breakdown, that the narrator does not seem to actually ever need anyone's help. There's little in the language that is beautiful, but nevertheless an effectively told story.

[lynnb_64 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Claire Newbold is still struggling to deal with the death of her young son several years ago when he husband confesses his infidelity. This confession pushes Claire over the edge, and she runs away from her life, cutting off all contact with her husband, abandoning her job and clients, and engaging in sexual relationships with strangers. Claire is an interesting and well-developed character. She is seemingly in control of choices and decisions, yet strangely unable to cope with details such as returning a rental car or checking out of a hotel. She becomes obsessed with her physical health (perhaps as a way of avoiding her emotional issues?), and this obsession seems to help her find her way back to reality. Very complex, nuanced look at grief and its impact on a mother and a marriage. Well done.

[icolford · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Layover is narrated by Claire Newbold, a woman in her early forties who some years before the events chronicled in this novel endured the death of her only child in a freak traffic accident. This tragedy and the struggle to get past it have defined her recent life, but it is only after her husband Ken (a cardiothoracic surgeon) confesses to an infidelity that she comes more or less unhinged. Claire is a traveling sales rep for a medical supply company and while on the road she finds that Ken's confession has sapped her of the will or ability to pretend that it’s business as usual. Without warning she blows off meetings with clients, swims at all hours in the pool at whatever hotel she happens to be in, and enjoys late evening/early morning room service dinners. After her travel schedule goes out the window she avoids phone calls from people who are concerned about her and comes up with a variety of imaginative contrivances that enable her to stay in hotel rooms without paying. Eventually she lands in Philadelphia and checks into the Four Seasons. Here she seduces a teenager and begins to suspect that whatever is causing this erratic and uninhibited behaviour is not emotional but physical. She contacts her therapist for advice and obsesses over her condition, eventually after much research settling on a diagnosis. In her spare time she indulges in sex with absolute strangers. In Claire Newbold, Lisa Zeidner has created a sharp, witty, observant heroine whose risqué antics and wry musings make for compelling reading. Whether or not we actually care about her is another matter. Despite her emotional fragility, Claire exudes confidence, especially in matters sexual. When she strolls into an office building where she doesn’t belong, she knows that no one will challenge her. When she approaches a man (or in the case of Zachery, a boy) there is no doubt in her mind that he will want to have sex with her. She sets up these encounters and is in complete control of them, which makes her come across not so much as vulnerable as calculating. It is a line that she occasionally crosses, at which point some readers may lose patience with her. Still, Zeidner has written an absorbing, original and daring novel about a woman struggling to keep her life from unraveling. It’s a precarious balancing act, but in the end we’re still pulling for her to keep heart and soul together.