A Gorgeous Excitement
A Novel
Cynthia Weiner
- One
- young
- woman’s
- summer
- of
- infinite
- possibility
- takes
- a
- turn
- she
- never
- saw
- coming
- in
- “this
- 1980s
- coming-of-age
- tale
- [that’s]
- chillingly
- compelling.
- Get
- ready
- to
- be
- transported.”—People
- (Best
- Books
- of
- the
- Month)AN
- OPRAH
- DAILY
- BEST
- NEW
- THRILLER
- •
- A
- TOWN
- &
- COUNTRY
- AND
- CRIMEREADS
- MOST
- ANTICIPATED
- BOOK“I
- haven’t
- felt
- this
- kind
- of
- excitement
- reading
- a
- story
- set
- in
- the
- ’80s
- since
- I
- first
- discovered
- Jay
- McInerney,
- Tama
- Janowitz,
- and
- Bret
- Easton
- Ellis.”—Margarita
- Montimore,
- bestselling
- author
- of
- Oona
- Out
- of
- OrderThere
- are
- two
- things
- Nina
- Jacobs
- is
- determined
- to
- do
- over
- the
- summer
- of
- 1986:
- avoid
- her
- mother’s
- depression-fueled
- rages,
- and
- lose
- her
- virginity
- before
- she
- starts
- college
- in
- the
- fall.
- Both
- are
- seemingly
- impossible*—*when
- her
- mother
- isn’t
- lying
- in
- bed
- for
- days,
- she’s
- lashing
- out
- at
- Nina
- over
- any
- perceived
- slight.
- And
- after
- a
- blowjob
- gone
- spectacularly
- wrong,
- Nina
- is
- the
- talk
- of
- Flanagan’s,
- the
- Upper
- East
- Side
- bar
- where
- young
- Manhattan
- society
- congregates.
- It
- doesn’t
- help
- that
- she’s
- Jewish,
- an
- outsider
- among
- the
- blue-eyed
- blondes
- who
- populate
- this
- rarified
- world.
- She
- can
- fit
- in,
- kind
- of,
- with
- enough
- alcohol
- and
- prescription
- drugs
- stolen
- from
- her
- parents’
- medicine
- cabinet.Flanagan’s
- is
- where
- she
- pines
- for
- the
- handsome,
- preppy,
- and
- charismatic
- Gardner
- Reed.
- Every
- girl
- wants
- to
- sleep
- with
- him
- and
- every
- guy
- wants
- to
- be
- him.
- After
- she’s
- introduced
- to
- cocaine,
- Nina
- plunges
- headlong
- into
- her
- pursuit
- of
- Gardner,
- oblivious
- to
- the
- warning
- signs.
- When
- a
- new
- medication
- seemingly
- frees
- her
- mother
- from
- darkness,
- and
- Nina
- and
- Gardner
- grow
- closer,
- it
- seems
- like
- Nina
- might
- finally
- get
- what
- she
- wants.
- But
- at
- what
- cost?Freud
- called
- cocaine
- “a
- gorgeous
- excitement,”
- but
- a
- gorgeous
- excitement
- for
- the
- wrong
- guy
- can
- be lethal.
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