Release: August 18th 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Source: Algonquin Books
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble , Books-A-Million ,Bookshop, IndieBound
__
__
Allie Lang is a professional ghostwriter and a perpetually broke single mother to a young boy. Years of navigating her own and America’s cultural definitions of motherhood have left her a lapsed idealist. Lana Breban is a powerhouse lawyer, economist, and advocate for women’s rights with designs on elected office. She also has a son. Lana and her staff have decided she needs help softening her public image and that a memoir about her life as a mother will help.
When Allie lands the job as Lana’s ghostwriter, it seems as if things will finally go Allie’s way. At last, she thinks, there will be enough money not just to pay her bills but to actually buy a house. After years of working as a ghostwriter for other celebrities, Allie believes she knows the drill: she has learned how to inhabit the lives of others and tell their stories better than they can.
But this time, everything becomes more complicated. Allie’s childcare arrangements unravel; she falls behind on her rent; her subject, Lana, is better at critiquing than actually providing material; and Allie’s boyfriend decides to go on a road trip toward self-discovery. But as a writer for hire, Allie has gotten too used to being accommodating. At what point will she speak up for all that she deserves?
A satirical, incisive snapshot of how so many of us now live, Impersonation tells a timely, insightful, and bitingly funny story of ambition, motherhood, and class.
About the Author:
Heidi Pitlor is the author of the novels The Birthdays and The Daylight Marriage. She has been the series editor of The Best American Short Stories since 2007 and the editorial director of Plympton, a literary studio. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Huffington Post, Ploughshares, and the anthologies It Occurs to Me That I Am America: New Stories and Art and Labor Day: True Birth Stories by Today’s Best Women Writers. She lives outside Boston..
Impersonation Review:
“Impersonation” is a creative contemporary novel about a woman who tackles issues with her personal life, in addition to her professional world of ghostwriting.
To begin with, I enjoyed Allie’s character and the various emotions she went through. On one side, she has regrets about the different life choices she made. On the other hand, she has to ghostwrite a story for someone who doesn’t give her much information. The author adds in many details about Allie’s life and the people she interacts with, and it made me connect with her. There are also supporting characters like her mother, Kurt, Jimmy, and Cass, who impact her choices. I particularly enjoyed the scenes between Jimmy and Allie and the unique friendship they had.
Moreover, the author provides details about the ghostwriting industry, which I found fascinating. I had limited knowledge about the process and found it interesting. The author also touches on other topics like feminism and motherhood, mainly when Allie works with Lana. The dynamic that the two shares are attractive because you see similarities in both of them, even if they have difficulty agreeing. On a side note, I also liked the scenes where they meet Ellen.
However, while I liked the story, I felt that there were quite a few unnecessary details that lagged the plot. The author meanders from the story quite a bit, especially with other characters, for instance, Norton and Gloria. While the story started strong and ended in an exciting climax, I felt it strayed in the middle.
But, apart from that, I found this story to be unique and different from other novels. Overall, “Impersonation” is pleasant contemporary women’s fiction.
Blog Tour Schedule
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the Impersonation by Heidi Pitlor Blog Tour hosted by Algonquin Books.
