Good Riddance

By Elinor Lipman

'A vastly entertaining screwball comedy' WASHINGTON POST
Decluttering her tiny New York apartment, Daphne Maritch decides to throw out any belongings that do not spark joy.
These include a high-school yearbook inherited from her school teacher mother, June, to whom the class of '68 dedicated the volume. June in turn attended every class reunion, scribbling notes and observations – not always charitably – after each one.
When neighbour Geneva Wisenkorn finds the discarded book and wants to use it for her own ends, Daphne realises she wants to keep it after all. 
Fighting to reclaim it, she uncovers some alarming Maritch family secrets and sets in motion a series of events that prove to be both poignant and absurd.
Good Riddance is a vastly entertaining screwball comedy from the Jane Austen of modern New York.
'A caper novel, light as a feather and effortlessly charming. It inspires a very specific kind of modern joy.' NEW YORK TIMES
'I've been a huge fan of her novels for so many years. Her writing is witty, astute and deliciously dry.' JILL MANSELL
'An exceptionally intelligent, wholly original and Austen-like stylist.' FAY WELDON

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lightning Books
• Release date: Jan 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781785631696

Elinor Lipman

Elinor Lipman is the award-winning author of sixteen books of fiction and nonfiction, including The Inn at Lake Devine, Isabel’s Bed, I Can’t Complain: (All Too) Personal Essays, On Turpentine Lane, Rachel to the Rescue, and Ms. Demeanor. Her first novel, Then She Found Me, was adapted into a film directed by and starring Helen Hunt, with Bette Midler, Colin Firth, and Matthew Broderick. Lipman was the 2011–12 Elizabeth Drew Professor of Creative Writing at Smith College and divides her time between Manhattan and the Hudson Valley.

Reviews for Good Riddance

[rglossne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Looking for something not too heavy, but well written, entertaining, and provocative? Elinor Lipman always delivers. In this romantic comedy, Daphne Maritch, a recently divorced New Yorker, throws out the heavily annotated yearbook her mother left her explicitly in her will. A neighbor who is a documentary film maker fishes it out of the recycle bin and sees a perfect subject. Who owns the story? What will Daphne and the film maker uncover? Will Daphne find true love? Will her father who moves to New York from their New Hampshire home to be close to his daughter and live the next chapter of his life? And what was her mother up to back when she was a young teacher? Lots of fun.

[annbury_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Beguiled by a snappy write-up and two glowing comments from major metropolitan dailies, I pressed the "purchase now" button quickly, looking forward to an enjoyable read. That's not the way it worked out. The main characters were not likeable -- not just the villainess, but our heroine as well. People's actions sometimes seemed random, with motivations missing or unclear. By the time I was done with the book, I was very irritated with it. It gets two stars because it is well written (in terms of putting sentences together, not in terms of creating engaging characters). But there are times when "well written" is not enough. And then I have one very but nagging gripe -- if the central character's mother was 23 in 1968, and if the central character is now 25, something very unusual appears to have happened. Otherwise, it doesn't add up.

[shelleyraec · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Meh. I was underwhelmed by ‘Good Riddance’. The yearbook, and it’s potential, was a great hook for a story, but I found the plot superficial and banal. So too was Daphne, Lipman’s main protagonist.It was her father, Tom, that I liked most, and who I thought had the most complete character arc.A quick, easy read, but not one I’d recommend unless you are a particular fan of the author.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Daphne's mother left her a yearbook - and not just any yearbook, but the one that was dedicated to Daphne's mother, then a teacher, and was chock full of notations in her mother's handwriting making note of what had happened to each student as they went on to become adults. Though this was clearly important to Daphne's mom, it did not "spark joy" for her daughter and in a fit of cleaning out, Daphne brought it to the recycling. Then her neighbor, aspiring filmmaker Geneva, finds it and begins making Daphne's life a living hell...I have enjoyed some titles more than others, but generally find Elinor Lipman a reliable author for a fun, breezy, enjoyable book. This one felt a little forced. The plot and the characters didn't gel for me. I felt sorry for Geneva (who I was supposed to find funny/annoying) and I didn't particularly relate to Daphne (who I was supposed to sympathize with). I didn't at all get her romance, either. I didn't hate the book, it had its moments making me smile or laughing at a particularly outrageous situation. It simply was mildly amusing when I was hoping for laugh-out-loud funny.

[dianaleez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I confess. I enjoyed Elinor Lipman’s “Good Riddance.” No, it’s not a great book, and, yes, she’s written better. But I’ll take a second-tier Lipman book any day over a poorly written one. I’m not going to rehash the plot. I liked that the major character grew and changed within the context of the book in ways that made sense. And I even liked the secondary characters. Yea, Geneva - we all need someone to loathe. And she certainly served her purpose.Lipman’s plot was a bit more contrived than usual. But that’s where the willing suspension of disbelief enters.If you’re looking for a quiet book that’s funny and in its way thought-provoking, at least give it a look. Like me, you might get hooked.[A review copy was provided by the publisher.]

[froxgirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sometime after The Pursuit Of Alice Thrift, Lipman lost her mojo/moja, and this novel is unfortunately no exception. It's got a lot of humor, always her strong suit, but an awful story premise centered around the protagonist's mother's high school yearbook. Lipman said it was taken from a story a friend told her and she should have gotten rid of it as in the title. There are two nice romantic relationships for daughter Daphne and her father, and some fun stuff about moving to Manhattan and being a professional dog walker, but it just doesn't add up to much.

[kimkimkim-7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had a hard time with this book. I waited several weeks after finishing it thinking that I might change my mind but no, I just don’t like this book. I failed to find the humor although much of the dialog was slightly humorous. I didn’t like the main characters, the minor characters, the brief appearances, the premise, the innuendoes, the nastiness, the story line. I picked it up, put it down, slogged through it and really should have left it unfinished. I came away with the surety that possession is 9/10s of the law, except when it isn’t. On the plus side the writing is solid.Thank you NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for a copy.