Rich and Pretty

A Novel

by Rumaan Alam

On Sale: 06/06/2017

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Rich and Pretty

A Novel

by Rumaan Alam

On Sale: 06/06/2017

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Amazon Indigo

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About the Book

This irresistible debut novel, set in contemporary New York, provides a sharp, insightful look at how the relationship between two best friends changes when they are no longer coming of age but learning how to live adult lives

As close as sisters for 20 years, Sarah and Lauren have been together through high school and college, first jobs and first loves, the uncertainties of their 20s and the realities of their 30s. Sarah, the only child of a prominent intellectual and a socialite, works at a charity and is methodically planning her wedding. Lauren—beautiful, independent and unpredictable—is single and working in publishing, deflecting her parents’ worries and questions about her life and future by trying not to think about the subject herself.

Once, Sarah and Lauren were inseparable; for a long a time now, they’ve been drifting apart. Can two women who rarely see each other, selectively share secrets and lead different lives still call themselves best friends? Is it their abiding connection—or just force of habit—that keeps them together?

With style, biting humour and a keen sense of detail, Rumaan Alam deftly explores how the attachments we form in childhood shift as we adapt to our adult lives—and how the bonds of friendship endure, even when our paths diverge.

Critical Praise

Smart, sharp, and beautifully made, Rumaan Alam’s portrait of two childhood best friends transitioning into their adult lives is vividly rendered, set against a tantalizing background of moneyed New York City that is impossible to resist. — Emma Straub, author of The Vacationers

Sharply observed and incredibly entertaining, Rich and Pretty tells the story of childhood friends struggling to hold onto their relationship as they grow up and grow apart. Rumaan Alam’s debut is one of the most honest portrayals of the complicated world of female friendship. — Jennifer Close, author of Girls in White Dresses

A must-read for anyone who has ever had a long-lasting and complicated friendship. In gorgeous prose, that is by turns hilariously funny and painfully perceptive, Rich and Pretty chronicles the lives of two very different women across the decades. — J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Maine

Deceptively easy to read, Rich and Pretty is a complex testimony to the resilience of female friendship. With clarity and heart, Rumaan Alam brings to life the fraught, bewildering and beautiful nuances that keep us reaching for each other over decades. — Mira Jacob, author of The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing

Engrossing, funny, and wise, Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam is the story of two young women growing up and growing out of their past selves, even as that past still, profoundly, matters. Its cleverness is surpassed only by its compassion. A marvelous debut. — Edan Lepucki, author of California

Rich and Pretty is a beautifully written novel, a lushly detailed portrait of the mores and manners of contemporary Manhattan and a penetrating look into the heart of the generation now facing their thirties. Alam’s study of female friendship is wickedly witty, keenly insightful, and deeply, compassionately wise. — Dan Chaon, author of Await Your Reply

Alam captures something truthful and essential about the push-pull of friendship--the desire for closeness as well as the space to define ourselves--and admirably resists the urge to look down on his characters. — Kirkus Reviews

“A sweet yet cutting exploration of the bonds of friendship in competitive New York City.” — Publishers Weekly

“Rumaan Alam transforms a whimsical beach read into compelling literary prose in his debut novel, Rich and Pretty.” — The Chronicle Herald

“One of the summer’s best page-turners and beach reads.” — NOW Magazine