{"product_id":"dear-monica-lewinsky-hardcover","title":"Dear Monica Lewinsky - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJulia Langbein\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eAmerican Mermaid\u003c\/i\u003e (\"Sublime\"--NYTBR) comes a wise, funny, and wildly original examination of female desire and the price women pay for giving in to their appetites. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA \u003ci\u003eLIT HUB \u003c\/i\u003eMOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A wild, wonderful essential novel.\" --Claire Lombardo, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Most Fun We Ever Had\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Truly funny.\"--Kevin Wilson, author of \u003ci\u003eNothing to See Here\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eForty-year-old Jean Dornan cannot escape the summer of 1998, when, as a college student studying abroad in France, she embarked on an inappropriate relationship with her professor. Now, decades later, when that professor contacts her out of the blue with an invitation to his retirement ceremony, Jean's long-standing malaise becomes an emotional crisis. Desperate to understand why this relationship derailed her life so completely, she begins rereading her old diaries and is shocked to realize that her own disastrous affair occurred during the summer of the Lewinsky scandal, yet she never saw the parallels. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn a frenzy of guilt and regret, Jean finds herself \u003ci\u003epraying \u003c\/i\u003eto Monica Lewinsky for forgiveness as if she were a secular saint, a figure of both suffering and sympathy. To Jean's shock, Saint Monica appears--powerful, radiant, wise, and witty--and guides Jean like the Ghost of Christmas Past back to the summer of 1998. Had Jean merely been naive and stupid, as she has told herself for so long? Was it sheer weakness that led her into the affair? Or will Jean, with Saint Monica by her side, see past blame to the beauty of her younger self's search for pleasure, connection, and transcendence? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTold in flashbacks of those sunlit six weeks in France, replete with Saint Monica's flinty, fiery insights and interspersed with retellings of the lives of real historical martyrs, \u003ci\u003eDear Monica Lewinsky\u003c\/i\u003e is a tender, hilarious, and wholly original examination of desire and its costs, of appetite and its denial, and of certain defeat and surprise renewal. It asks what grace and forgiveness might look like both in our own individual lives and as a society.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJULIA LANGBEIN holds a doctorate in art history and is the author of the novel \u003ci\u003eAmerican Mermaid \u003c\/i\u003eas well as a nonfiction book about comic art criticism. She has written about food, art, and travel for \u003ci\u003eBon Appétit, Gourmet\u003c\/i\u003e, Eater, \u003ci\u003eSalon\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFrieze, \u003c\/i\u003e and other publications, and received a 2024 James Beard Foundation Journalism Award. A native of Chicago, she lives outside of Paris with her family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.19 x 9.3 x 6.07 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 14, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52029474734381,"sku":"9780385551502","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/3gsF-chdO99780385551502.webp?v=1777470630","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/dear-monica-lewinsky-hardcover","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}