I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You: A Novel - Hardcover

Maum, Courtney

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1476764581 ISBN 13: 9781476764580

Publisher: Touchstone, 2014

Synopsis

Despite the success of his first solo show in Paris and the support of his brilliant French wife and young daughter, thirty-four-year-old British artist Richard Haddon is too busy mourning the loss of his American mistress to a famous cutlery designer to appreciate his fortune.

But after Richard discovers that a painting he originally made for his wife, Anne-when they were first married and deeply in love-has sold, it shocks him back to reality and he resolves to reinvest wholeheartedly in his family life . . . just in time for his wife to learn the extent of his affair. Rudderless and remorseful, Richard embarks on a series of misguided attempts to win Anne back while focusing his creative energy on a provocative art piece to prove that he's still the man she once loved.

Skilfully balancing biting wit with a deep emotional undercurrent, debut novelist Courtney Maum has created the perfect portrait of an imperfect family-and a heartfelt exploration of marriage, love, and fidelity.

About this title

Review

“Deftly exploring the daily challenges of marriage...this book provided me with a powerful reminder to appreciate my partner and the life that we’ve built together.”—Real Simple, Best Book of 2014.

“Maum is funny: the kind of funny that is mean and dirty, with some good bad words thrown in. And she has a satiric eye for artsy pretension. . . . Enticing.” (New York Times Book Review)

“Here we have the literary beach read — a book that pleases people who read two books a month and people who read two books a year. . . . The situation is timeworn and irresistible. The settings . . . are idyllic escapes, lushly drawn. . . . [Maum] is abundantly gifted — funny, open-hearted, adept at bringing global issues into the personal sphere . . . eventually creating that rare thing: a book for everyone.” (Washington Post)

"Funny, touching and wise about love and vanity, this seductive debut might leave you rethinking some decisions of your own." (People Magazine, People Picks Book of the Week)

“A great story about love and marriage . . . Very enchanting, a good beach read.” (Today Show, Summer's Top Reads)

“Courtney Maum bursts onto the scene with a hilarious and wise novel. . . . Richard Haddon is one of the more lovable male characters we've encountered this season. . . . You'll find yourself agog at Maum's masterful storytelling and dead-on descriptions.” (Glamour)

"A charming and engrossing portrait of one man's midlife mess . . . Smart, fast-paced . . . You come for the plot, but you stay for the characters—especially Maum's flawed but likable and basically well-intentioned hero. Ultimately, this is the story of a man who would do anything to be a better person, and you will avidly wish for him to succeed." (Elle)

"A winning first novel of infidelity, forgiveness, and (maybe, just maybe) falling back in love.” (O Magazine, 15 Titles to Pick Up Now)

“Funny and soulful . . . Filled with wise and revealing insights about the mature rewards embattled marriages provide. . . . [An] immensely appealing novel.” (The Wall Street Journal)

"Maum is not only convincing, but emotionally aggrandizing in her exploration of the challenges of love and marriage. . . . The characters are so identifiable in their cringeable weaknesses and reasonable mistakes, that it is hard not to see oneself in them." —Brooklyn Daily Eagle

About the Author

Courtney Maum graduated from Brown University with a degree in Comparative Literature. She then lived in France for five years where she worked as a party promoter for Corona Extra, which had everything to do with getting a Visa, and nothing to do with her degree. Today, Maum splits her time between the Berkshires, New York City, and Paris, working as a creative brand strategist, corporate namer, and humor columnist.

About this edition

• Publisher: Touchstone
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1476764581
• ISBN 13: 9781476764580
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352