{"product_id":"clutch","title":"Clutch","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEmily Nemens is the author of the novels \n\u003ci\u003eClutch\u003c\/i\u003e (Tin House\/Zando, 2026), and \n\u003ci\u003eThe Cactus League\u003c\/i\u003e (FSG, 2020), both of which were \n\u003ci\u003eNYT Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e Editor's Choice selections. Her stories and essays have appeared in \n\u003ci\u003eBOMB\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eStory\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eZyzzyva\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003en+1\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere; her illustrations have appeared in the \n\u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e and in collaboration with Harvey Pekar. Nemens spent over a decade editing literary quarterlies, including leading the \n\u003ci\u003eParis Review\u003c\/i\u003e and serving as coeditor and prose editor of the \n\u003ci\u003eSouthern Review\u003c\/i\u003e. She teaches in the MFA program at Bennington College and lives in central New Jersey with her husband and dog.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Editors' Choice\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"I rooted for these women, loved them, and cherished the omniscient asides sprinkled throughout hinting at happy endings, even far beyond the novel. . . . What I wouldn't give to know that my friends and I will end up OK, to have someone with Nemens's feral intelligence mapping our paths.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Joumana Khatib, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"What a ride! Five best friends from college meet up in Palm Springs, and from there we dive right into their lives and backstories, all of which are compelling. Emily Nemens' writing is nothing short of brilliant. This book is smart, funny, and filled with deep true emotion; she loves her characters, and by the end, we do too. Highly recommended!\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Elin Hilderbrand, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Through miscarriages, divorces, deaths and loneliness, these largely ambitious and successful women protect each other like lionesses, providing a kind of support that their families and partners just can't. . . . There's something universal and lovely about the way \n\u003ci\u003eClutch\u003c\/i\u003e portrays the crucial and deep love that only friendship can provide.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"Funny, tender, and undeniably entertaining.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eChicago Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e, A Must-Read Book of February \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Lovely . . . Powerful.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--NPR, \u003ci\u003eAll Things Considered \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"This story casts a smart, sociological eye on ambitious American women's experiences while \n\u003ci\u003ealso\u003c\/i\u003e being a compulsive page-turner.\" \n\u003cb\u003e --Rhian Sasseen, \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"Celebrates adult female friendship in an honest and deeply entertaining way. . . . Funny and tender.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Allison Fabian Derfner, goop \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"For fans of Elena Ferrante and stories about complex female friendships, \n\u003ci\u003eClutch\u003c\/i\u003e is a must-read.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e --Bustle, \u003c\/i\u003eA Best Book of February\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Nemens asks what each of us owes our most treasured friendships, long after the height of the relationship.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eAlta Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, A Best Book of February\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"[With] richness of character, language \u0026amp; metaphor . . . refreshingly refuses any neat wrap-ups or easy victimization despite betrayal.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003ePittsburgh Post-Gazette \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"The only reason to put this engrossing novel down is to text your bestie.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Electric Literature\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"Perfectly captures the nature of female friends: in loyalty and love, dissonance and imperfection.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--The Center for Fiction\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A big, beautiful novel about what friendship means as we get older.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--LitHub, A Most Anticipated Book of 2026 \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"What I really like about this book is that none of the five women feel overly like stereotypes or even archetypes . . . for these friends, even when things go catastrophically wrong, you feel comforted. It's a real pleasure to settle in to read.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e Podcast, A Most Anticipated Book of Winter \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Sharp and intimate . . . the story unfolds through a group text thread, where bonds are tested and secrets surface.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eNew Jersey Monthly\u003c\/i\u003e, A Best Beach Read\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"An assured and wise book, unique in how seriously it takes the value of friendship between older women.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eElectric Literature \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Shines a light on what adult friendship and community between women really aspires to be.\" \n\u003cb\u003e --The Rumpus \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A rewarding read . . . It has all the makings of a contemporary classic.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--The Driftless Area Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"An authentic chronicle of midlife female friendship . . . Funny, sometimes piercing and sometimes poignant, but never sentimental--the ideal read for anyone who cringes at Galentine's Day, yet knows that no romance has shaped them more profoundly than the one they share with their oldest friends.\" \n\u003cb\u003e --Tertulia \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Centers wit, joy, and laughter alongside the sorrows and frustrations of midlife, reaffirming the importance of deep and abiding friendships.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Impressive. . . . [a] gut-punch climax, rewarding the reader who's paying attention to all the details.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Engaging. . . . The draw here is spending time with these friends, whose complex lives Nemens cannily and sometimes heartrendingly portrays as they go through so much, together and alone.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBooklist \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Nemens captures the complexity of maintaining friendships while reckoning with the challenges of middle age. It adds up to a chatty and sometimes insightful riff on \n\u003ci\u003eThe Big Chill\u003c\/i\u003e.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"What happens when youthful dreams and ambitions hit the wall? Emily Nemens's compelling new novel, \n\u003ci\u003eClutch\u003c\/i\u003e, is an exploration of long devoted friendships in such pivotal moments. The life-changing situations and choices leave us aware of both a universal experience and the most private and fragile one. Wise, witty and at times harrowing, Nemens skillfully weaves the lives of these five friends, memorably cemented by time.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Jill McCorkle, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eLife After Life\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eClutch\u003c\/i\u003e is a sharp, heartfelt celebration of modern friendship, positioning it as the backbone of our social lives. Through bold, inventive leaps, Nemens's prose dazzles, elevating the group chat, and the friend bond, to something sacred and vital. A big-hearted and daring novel from one of our finest creative and critical minds.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eJonathan Escoffery, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eIf I Survive You\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Finally, we have a collective noun for a group of aging female friends, and only the great Emily Nemens could've declared it. \n\u003ci\u003eClutch\u003c\/i\u003e is hilarious, philosophical, anthropological, polyphonic, with a keen eye for the specific foibles of our present American moment. Nemens is an expert chronicler of the subtle ways women wound each other, and also, the ways they offer love. The way a friendship can carry venom and antidote both. These pages made me laugh and broke my heart--yes, it had me in its clutches.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Hilary Leichter, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eTerrace Story\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A sharp, funny, utterly engrossing exploration of the enduring complexity and deep love of long term friendship, \n\u003ci\u003eClutch\u003c\/i\u003e enmeshes you in the particularities, yearning, fears of these five friends, as they try and fail and try again to love and care for one another amidst the endless push and pull, losses and joys of middle life.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Lynn Steger Strong, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Float Test\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eClutch\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerfully intimate portrait of female friendship, following five college friends through the turbulent landscape of their forties as careers implode, marriages fracture, and dreams reshape themselves in unexpected ways. With razor-sharp insight, humor, and deep compassion, Nemens explores how these women navigate life's most challenging moments, proving that even when circumstances threaten to tear them apart, the bonds forged in youth can become the foundation for reinvention. This is a bracingly honest and exhilarating novel about the messy, complicated, and essential work of showing up for the people who matter most.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Kimberly King Parsons, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eWe Were the Universe\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Witty, incisive, and gorgeously written. . . . The five women in this book, so lovingly portrayed in all their imperfect glory, will step off the page and into your heart.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Ana Reyes, author of \u003ci\u003eThe House in the Pines\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eWhite Lotus\u003c\/i\u003e with more sincerity and heart.\" --\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"This story casts a smart, sociological eye on ambitious American women's experiences while \u003ci\u003ealso\u003c\/i\u003e being a compulsive page-turner.\" \u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA close-knit group of women navigate mid-life's biggest challenges--marriage, career, addiction--in this \"sharp, funny, utterly engrossing\" novel (Lynn Steger Strong)\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eNamed a Best Book by \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAlta Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBustle\u003c\/i\u003e, and more\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFive friends. Twenty years of history. One unforgettable reunion.\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003eAs undergrads, Gregg, Reba, Hillary, Bella, and Carson formed the kind of rare bond that college brochures promise--friendship that \n\u003ci\u003elasts a lifetime\u003c\/i\u003e. Two decades later, the women are spread across the country but remain firmly tethered through their ever-unfurling group chat. They've made it through COVID and childbirth and midcareer challenges, but no one can anticipate what's coming down the pike. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe five women converge on Palm Springs for a long overdue reunion: Gregg, who has forged a path as a progressive Texas legislator, is facing a huge decision about her political future. Reba, who moved back to the Bay Area after decades away, is deep in IVF treatments while caring for her aging parents and navigating a San Francisco she hardly recognizes. Hillary's medical career in Chicago is going great--but at home, her husband's struggles with addiction have derailed their life. In New York City, Bella faces the biggest case in her career as a litigator while her home life crumbles around her, and across the river in Brooklyn, Carson is working on a new novel as well as forging a possible relationship with the father she's never met. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTwenty years into their shared friendship, the stakes are higher than ever, and they must help one another reconcile professional ambition with personal tumult. \n\u003ci\u003eClutch \u003c\/i\u003eis a big, beautiful, and deeply absorbing novel that asks how much space and heart we can give to our friends and our families, and what space we can save for ourselves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 01\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781963108668, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 12\/01\/2025 (EAN 9781963108668, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 12\/15\/2025 (EAN 9781963108668, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Tin House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496058126614,"sku":"9781963108668","price":33.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781963108668.jpg?v=1783052121","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/clutch","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}