omnomicons 's review for:

Writers & Lovers by Lily King

4.25

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Writers & Lovers accurately reflects its title, dividing it’s time faithfully between the two titular activities — writing and loving. The primary strength of this novel is its well-roundedness: Casey doesn’t compromise her writing for the men in her life, or vice versa. Even more importantly, she’s never asked to make that choice. Though her personally conflicts are deeply tied to both her unfinished novel and the men she’s seeing, King doesn’t fall into the trap of the themes of love and work at odds constituting the main plot lines. There’s also a wonderful timelessness to this novel; I had no idea it was set in the ‘90s until a historical event was actually mentioned. I honestly don’t even have any significant critiques, the only negative I see being that this novel didn’t feel groundbreaking to me or shift my thinking in any way. Regardless, Writers & Lovers feels like contemporary fiction at its best: a fair, even-handed and compelling portrayal of what it means to be an artist.