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How to Sleep at Night

A Novel

ebook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 8 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 8 weeks

"Funny, charming...you can do no better than to curl up with this sparkling book."—The Washington Post

"By turns insightful, poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, How To Sleep at Night is a delight."— J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times Bestselling author of Friends and Strangers

"This wonderful debut is about the rough and tumble road that true love represents for all of us." —James McBride, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

"This debut sparkles with wit and insight. I found myself laughing and gasping in equal measure. A true testament to the complexities of modern relationships—this book is a must-read for anyone who's ever wondered how to bridge the gap between who we are and who we aspire to be." —Dolly Alderton

A witty and whip-smart novel about love, marriage, and family ties stretched thin by ambition.

Meet Ethan and Gabe. A devoted couple for years, they have successful careers, an adorable daughter, and a house in the New Jersey suburbs. Sure, they may have drifted to different ends of the political spectrum, but their marriage still has its spark. Then one night Ethan makes an announcement: he wants to run for Congress as a Republican—but only if he has progressive Gabe's blessing. For weeks a slightly queasy Gabe struggles between supporting his husband and maintaining his own lefty ideals. He can feel himself slowly pulled under the tide of Ethan's ambitions, even as he becomes widely known as a conservative spouse.

In a nearby town, suburban mom Nicole wonders what happened to her younger self—living in New York City, freely dating men and women, and on a path to a career in the art world. Nicole feels like an accessory in her husband's life and like she's given up on the goals she had for herself. Then an old flame re-enters her life unexpectedly. That woman is Ethan's sister Kate.

A political reporter at a major newspaper, Kate has reached the top of her profession. But the adrenaline rush of chasing a story has lost its thrill. When Nicole—the woman who broke her heart—slides into her DMs just as her brother starts his controversial congressional run, Kate's life is thrown into a tailspin that threatens to derail the success she's worked so hard to achieve.

"A sharply funny exploration of marriage and ambition, How to Sleep at Night has the feel of whispered secrets exchanged over cocktails with your smartest friend."–Jenny Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street

"This wonderful debut is about the rough and tumble road that true love represents for all of us." — James McBride, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

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    • Booklist

      October 15, 2024
      In this modern-day comedy of manners, debut author Harris examines relationships and politics through the lens of two couples: long-married Gabe and Ethan, and exes Nicole and Kate, who unexpectedly reconnect years after their romance abruptly ended. High school teacher Gabe is stunned when Ethan comes home one day and announces he wants to run for Congress as a Republican. Can their marriage survive not just a political campaign, but increasingly different political ideologies? Meanwhile, Ethan's sister Kate is a political reporter whose career is on the rise when bored, stay-at-home mom Nicole, the ex who broke her heart years before, slides into her DMs. The spark is still there, but Nicole is now married. Can she and Kate resist their pull towards each other? As the Congressional race heats up, each character must ask what they're willing to sacrifice in order to stay true to themselves. Exploring themes of ambition, loyalty, and how people evolve over time, this sly novel fits right in among other fiction which explores the personal side of politics, such as Jennifer's Close's The Hopefuls (2016).

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Kirkus

      Starred review from November 15, 2024
      Running for Congress as a Republican, a gay man complicates life for his family. AsNew York Times reporter Harris' debut novel opens, Ethan Keller has "something terrible" to tell his husband, Gabe. He wants to run for the soon-to-be vacant seat of the Congressional district just south of the home the couple shares with their 5-year-old daughter in New Jersey. Gabe is a 10th grade history teacher and a staunch Democrat; though he realizes this is not going to be any fun, he has no idea how intense things will become. Ethan's sister, Kate, who's a reporter at theHerald Ledger and also Gabe's best friend, has a mixed reaction. "I've always thought he should run for office," she tells Gabe, "but some of the stuff he believes now, I just can't understand it." And there's a personal complication for her as well--she has to report the potential conflict to her boss at the paper, and then "stay ten thousand miles away from this race at all times." Meanwhile, Kate, divorced from her wife, has a sticky situation all her own--her college girlfriend, Nicole, now married to a man and the stay-at-home mother of two, has reappeared in her life. Harris develops the internal and external challenges facing these two bougie gay couples with a sure hand, and does an equally impressive job on the political landscape of Ethan's campaign, which is complicated by a big mistake in his past which he has not yet revealed to voters. Tension builds toward Election Day until something's gotta give--and it does. A lively, of-the-moment political and domestic drama.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 21, 2024
      In Harris’s timely debut, a gay man’s husband runs for Congress as a Republican, testing their marriage, and two women contend with the fallout from their long-ago love affair. Gabe Alter has been with Ethan Keller for 20 years. When they met, they were both Democrats, but over time, Ethan has drifted to the right. After Ethan floats his plan to enter the Republican primary, Gabe confides in Ethan’s sister, Kate, a newspaper reporter, about his hesitation to support Ethan’s long-held dream of entering politics. Gabe finds Ethan’s small-government views abhorrent, and worries he’ll no longer be seen as a staunch leftist if he backs Ethan, but that if he doesn’t, they’ll lose each other. A parallel narrative follows Kate’s ex Nicole Harmon, a stay-at-home mom who dated Kate in her 20s. When Kate learns her newspaper is planning to run an article about Ethan’s past DUI, she warns him, knowing there might be consequences to her career, while Nicole struggles with feeling invisible as a queer person, given her marriage to a man. As Kate and Nicole reconnect, Nicole hopes to rediscover that part of herself. The political material is a bit simplistic, but the characters are well-drawn, and the story moves at a brisk clip as it builds to Election Day. It adds up to a satisfying story of middle-aged reckonings. Agent: Brettne Bloom, Book Group.

    • Library Journal

      December 1, 2024

      DEBUT Gabe and Ethan are a couple of over 20 years, during which Gabe has supported Ethan through job changes, alcohol addiction, and recovery. But Ethan's latest plan, running for congress as a Republican, might be one step too far for Gabe. A politically liberal Democrat, Gabe worries about how Ethan, and by extension, their family, will be perceived by Republican voters. Ethan's sister Kate is a political reporter for a big New York City newspaper. While she too has worries about Ethan's candidacy, she is most concerned with the reappearance of Nicole, a former lover. Nicole, married to older man Andrew, loves being a mother but is feeling a sense of ennui about the rest of her life. When she sees Kate on TV, she DMs her and they reconnect. Harris alternates chapters among the perspectives of Gabe, Kate, and Nicole. Ethan remains a cipher to readers and, overall, the political aspects of the story are less robust and complex than the other storylines. VERDICT New York Times publishing-industry correspondent Harris excels at depicting middle-aged people reckoning with their earlier choices and struggling with how they want to live the rest of their lives. Recommended for most fiction collections.--Lynnanne Pearson

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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