As Good as Dead, by Elizabeth Evans
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As Good as Dead, by Elizabeth Evans
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At the high-octane Iowa Writers' Workshop, small-town Charlotte is thrilled and confounded by her relationship with charismatic and sophisticated Esmé: One moment, Esmé appears to be Charlotte's most intimate friend; the next, her rival. After a tumultuous weekend, Charlotte's insecurities and her resentment toward Esmé reach a fever pitch. Blindly, Charlotte strikes out--in an act of betrayal that ultimately unleashes a cascade of calamities on her own head.
Twenty years later, Charlotte is a successful novelist. A much-changed Esmé appears, bringing the past that Charlotte grieved over, and believed buried, to the doorstep of Charlotte and her beloved husband. Charlotte finds herself both frightened and charmed. Though she yearns to redeem the old friendship and her transgression, she is wary--and rightly so.
As Good As Dead performs an exquisitely tuned psychological high-wire act as it explores the dangers that lie in wait when trust is poisoned by secrets and fears.
As Good as Dead, by Elizabeth Evans- Amazon Sales Rank: #1510105 in Books
- Brand: Evans, Elizabeth
- Published on: 2015-03-03
- Released on: 2015-03-03
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.52" h x .97" w x 5.93" l, 1.00 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 272 pages
Review
“A compulsively page-turning novel. Blackmail! Back-stabbing! The Iowa Writers Workshop! Evans dips into painful realism, comedy, and nail-biting suspense. You will be as good as sleepless until you turn the last page.” ―Julie Schumacher, author of DEAR COMMITTEE MEMBERS
“In brief strokes but with crystalline detail, Evans draws obsessive and seductive characters that make a passel of trouble for themselves--and for each other. First page, I'm hooked, and every page after that. An engrossing novel, simply superb.” ―Ann Cummins, author of YELLOWCAKE
“The suspense in As Good As a Dead is of a special kind--we wait to see how much power old jealousies and defeats have and who will outlive them. A riveting story, beautifully written.” ―Joan Silber, author of HOUSEHOLD WORDS and IDEAS OF HEAVEN
“As Good as Dead is as funny as it is sad, and gets to the heart of what reading is for--to change us and make us try harder at life. Elizabeth Evans is a true storyteller with a gorgeous and startling gift.” ―Kate Bernheimer, author of HOW A MOTHER WEANED HER GIRL FROM FAIRY TALES
“As Good as Dead is like a seduction of the senses; no one can do this sort of subtlety as well as Elizabeth Evans--except perhaps the marvelous writer Ann Patchett. They both have the startling ability to reveal their stories with the mesmerizing art of Scheherazade during her thousand and one nights. I only wish Ms. Evans's books were numerous enough to sustain us over so long a time.” ―Robb Forman Dew, author of BEING POLITE TO HITLER
“Elizabeth Evans is a masterful storyteller, and As Good As Dead, simultaneously funny, menacing, and wise, is her finest novel to date. Charlotte, the fearless and loveably flawed narrator, will find a permanent place in American literature. The plot takes suspenseful twists and turns, and comes to rest with a shocking, and very moving, disclosure.” ―Bharati Mukherjee, author of JASMINE
“As Good as Dead is a portrait of the artist as a young woman, with all her passionate hopes and attachments, and then shows us the reckoning she must make with that self in later years. Elizabeth Evans is a graceful and intelligent writer who never makes a false step, as well as a first-rate explorer of secrets and secret lives.” ―Jean Thompson, author of THE HUMANITY PROJECT
“Evans expertly captures the psychology of females who were both friends and rivals on every level, from writing to men. A suspenseful atmosphere and insightful writing are at the heart of this well-crafted novel.” ―Booklist
“This intelligent and literary psychological novel from Evans (The Blue Hour; Suicide's Girlfriend) creatively explores what happens when secrets, betrayal, and trust issues arise in a friendship and in a marriage.” ―Library Journal
“The tension builds in this nail-biting story of manipulation.” ―Marie Claire
“A compelling story, told with delicacy and compassion . . . Evans' light, easy prose is like listening in on a conversation at the next table, where Charlotte is telling her secrets to a friend. Evans' deft writing makes you want to be that friend.” ―Washington Independent Review of Books
“Main characters and frenemies Charlotte and Esmé compromise their honor, loyalty and fidelity in Evans' psychological high-wire act.” ―Iowa City Press Citizen
“Carter Clay is brave and fascinating.” ―Sandra Scofield, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, on CARTER CLAY
“Carter Clay is thrilling in its enormous ambition and intelligence. Elizabeth Evans is a fearless writer. After reading this novel, I'm convinced that there's nothing that she can't do.” ―Ann Patchett on CARTER CLAY
“The Blue Hour is about the marketing and consumption of values and is very much a Great American Novel . . . one of those rare novels one finishes with the sense of having needed to read it.” ―The Washington Post Book World on THE BLUE HOUR
“Elizabeth Evans's style is eloquent without posturing. Her dialogue anoints each character with striking individuality. Her scenes move crisply to revelation . . . a superb fictional debut.” ―Newsday on THE BLUE HOUR
About the Author Elizabeth Evans's five previous books include The Blue Hour, Suicide's Girlfriend, and Carter Clay. She received the Iowa Author Award in 2010. Other awards include a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, the James Michener Fellowship, the Lila Wallace Award, and the Four Corners Award. She lives in Tucson.
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Most helpful customer reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Insipid, Needlessly Frantic, and Overbilled by Its Title By SLS A barely veiled disdain emanates from each of the main characters in Elizabeth Evans' novel As Good As Dead. Charlotte Price, the narrator, is fully steeped in her academic lifestyle. She can't be bothered to simply "like" or "enjoy" something; instead she must "always prefer" things. Similarly, she is so removed from her own opinions that she has to "find" them for herself. (She does not "think" someone is pretentious, but "always finds" them so.) She practically congratulates herself on her brilliant husband, Will Ludlow, who is also an academic. He specializes in Italian Futurism and is above average in many ways; his 6'5" height is repeated numerous times.Charlotte and Will have settled in Tucson where they both have "won" (not "earned" or "landed", as most mortals do) tenure-track positions. One day, Charlotte's former roommate/friend Esme appears on her doorstep, announcing "c'est moi" with an expectant air about her. As the novel bounces and pivots in time, we learn that Esme had been a rather cruddy friend to Charlotte back when they first met in school. We can see that Esme considered Charlotte the lesser person in their friendship, but Charlotte was too distracted by herself to realize this. Now, Esme - who also lives in Tucson - demands that Charlotte must redress a past perceived wrong, which turns out to be hardly worth the emotional blackmail Esme is threatening. It involves Esme's drunkard poet husband Jeremy, who basically holds the entire universe in general disregard.If this multi-sourced disdain were the only negative against As Good As Dead, I might have been able to rate it a 3 out of 5 stars. But there is just no real story here. There IS much hysteria over feelings and Charlotte's use of exclamation points. The actual events - once they can be teased out of the neurotic mess of a timeline - are laughably dull and commonplace. The writing is arduous, and strains too hard to be coy. But it never engages. Charlotte comes across as precious; even as an adult she remains too immature to be accountable for her own decisions. There are two places in the book where Charlotte and Will are meant to seem almost heroic, but they just appear histrionic instead.So, if there is no engaging story and no relatable characters, what exactly is left for a reader to hang their interest on? Well, there is the overt symbolism of the poisonous oleander, which serves as a valiant bellwether for the nuclear winter of Charlotte and Will's relationship. Ironic, then, or perhaps that much more fitting, that oleander was among the first plants to bloom in Hiroshima after the city's bombing.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. This is a relationship drama, not a thriller. My review is spoilerish. By Hervian Rose Don't let the title and publishers blurb fool you. This is not a thriller,nor a comedy, as has been suggested. It is a writer's workshop sort of book, thickly padded with elegant Literary Devices. Protagonist Charlotte attempts revenge on her narcissistic roommate Esme in an act too unappealing to believe. Now it is Esme's turn, And the tension builds (expertly) through the story as Esme returns with an offer of renewed friendship that can't be trusted. Since this is Academia, the climax is a Moderately Severe Ethical Dilemna. This could be considered a coming of age novel if forty is the new twenty.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Good character study - with a mix of mystery and psychological thriller elements By Nathan Webster There's a line about academia that goes something like "nowhere are the fights so vicious and the stakes so low," and this book does a good job of providing some of the truth about that statement.This book's title makes it seem like a mystery/thriller, and while there are aspects of that, I'd call it more of a character study that uses techniques commonly seen in thrillers...if that makes sense. Bottom line, it IS a psychological thriller, but of a different sort than you'd be used too.I liked this book for a couple reasons - I'm a college instructor, so I am familiar with the academic culture, and I have an MFA, so I'm familiar with that very strange writing culture. My own program was not nearly as competitive or highstrung as the Iowa Writer's Workshop, but it's all in the same family. So readers with backgrounds in those two environments, who want to see the experiences of those cultures taken in a new direction, will definitely appreciate this.I don't want to get too much into plot, because while it's not exactly a mystery, you need to have information revealed to you as you go. It's not a spoiler to say the main character cheated on her boyfriend with the boyfriend of a close "friend." But the motivations and recriminations are best left unknown until you read it. I've typed up a few lines that try to dance around things, but I've decided to not even hint at events - so that's why this is vague. Evans doesn't answer everything, but I liked how some off-stage events are hinted at, but never explained.I wish Evans had gone a little bit more into the classroom, both as a student and teacher. Most of the scenes take place at parties, or offices, or homes - but since the workshop dynamic can lead to conflict, I think that was an unexplored area I would have liked to have seen.Evans does a really neat job of using a "story" written by one of the characters as a technique to explain events. And the interpersonal dynamic seemed very plausible. There is an act of spite that was perfectly placed.Overall, a this was a unique take on the academic mystery. I think the title makes it seem something that it really isn't? I get how it fits, but I think it might lead an audience down the wrong road - to me this was more literary fiction than a mystery. Your Creative Writing graduate student niece or nephew would appreciate this for an end-of-semester/graduation gift.
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