Not Perfect: A Novel

by Elizabeth LaBan

Overview

From Elizabeth LaBan, the acclaimed author of The Restaurant Critic’s Wife, comes a captivating and very funny novel about a wife and mother’s fall from grace, and why keeping up appearances is not her biggest secret.

Tabitha Brewer wakes up one morning to find her husband gone, leaving her no way to support herself and their two children, never mind their upscale Philadelphia lifestyle. She’d confess her situation to her friends—if it wasn’t for those dreadful words of warning in his goodbye note: “I’ll tell them what you did.”

Instead, she does her best to keep up appearances, even as months pass and she can barely put food on the table—much less replace a light bulb. While she looks for a job, she lives in fear that someone will see her stuffing toilet paper into her handbag or pinching basil from a neighbor’s window box.

Soon, blindsided by catastrophe, surprised by romance, and stunned by the kindness of a stranger, Tabitha realizes she can’t keep her secrets forever. Sooner or later, someone is bound to figure out that her life is far from perfect.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781477809228
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	02/01/2018
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Elizabeth LaBan is the author of The Tragedy Paper, which has been translated into eleven languages; The Grandparents Handbook, which has been translated into seven languages; The Restaurant Critic's Wife; and Pretty Little World. She lives in Philadelphia with her restaurant-critic husband and two children.

Editorial Reviews

03/01/2018
The latest novel from LaBan (The Restaurant Critic's Wife) is a raw and at times rough exploration of a woman's marriage, parenting, and life. Tabitha Brewer wakes up one morning to find her husband gone, having left her and their two children without explanation. How can she alone maintain the financial responsibilities of the life they had? Understandably, but also sadly, Tabitha tries to keep up appearances and projects a false image to the outside world that everything is okay—all because of a threatening note left by her husband that states he will expose her. Tabitha has no idea what this threat refers to, and the resulting fear she feels creates a kind of guilt that prevents her from reaching out for help, making the struggle even more of a hardship. LaBan's characters are fallible, and sometimes not likable because of that, but they are complicated and real as well. VERDICT A highly relatable and believable story that addresses self-image, shame, friendships, abandonment, and rebuilding a life.—Anne M. Miskewitch, Harold Washington Lib. Ctr., Chicago P.L.

Library Journal

A POPSUGAR Winter Must-Read Selection

“LaBan has written an amazingly heartbreaking yet uplifting story of a mother who is left with nothing and expected to keep going. Readers of Jennifer Weiner and Jane Green will want to try this one.” —Booklist

“Not Perfect is a witty and relatable look at the secrets we keep and the quest for perfection.” —POPSUGAR

“Not Perfect has a lively rom-com vibe to it—there is romance and humour and LaBan has created a likeable cast of characters...” —Toronto Star

“If you haven’t read Elizabeth LaBan, her latest novel, Not Perfect, is the perfect place to start. It’s a domestic mystery starring Tabitha Brewer, a suburban housewife who wakes up one morning to find her husband gone and her life changed forever. Tabitha is a wonderfully relatable heroine, and you’ll cheer her on, despite the fact she has a few secrets—or maybe because of them! I love this book!” —Lisa Scottoline, New York Times bestselling author

“Not Perfect is near perfect. Warm, but not cloying. Moral, but not preachy. A beautiful meditation on redemption.” —Kathy Cooperman, bestselling author of Crimes Against a Book Club

“With humor and elegance, Elizabeth LaBan explores the burden of perfection and the futility of seeking it in Not Perfect. Funny and real, poignant and charming, Tabitha is a delight as she falls from grace, from perfect mother and wife to pilfering food and money to keep her family afloat, until she realizes that perfect is overrated. This novel is a gift for anyone who has struggled to wear a mask or keep up an appearance, which is essentially all of us.” —Amulya Malladi, bestselling author of A House for Happy Mothers and The Copenhagen Affair

“Not Perfect is a captivating story about keeping up appearances, written with a perfect blend of humor and drama. Tabitha is delightfully human and flawed, and her struggle to preserve the balance of her world in the face of her missing husband (where is Stuart, anyway?) is highly relatable. A fun read that manages to also be thought-provoking.” —Kerry Anne King, author of Closer Home and I Wish You Happy

“Not Perfect is a bighearted exploration of motherhood, image, and what really matters most.” —Emily Cavanagh, author of The Bloom Girls

From the Publisher