Lillian on Life

'I absolutely loved it. A delight . . . so fresh and clever and subversive' Kate Atkinson

'I completely loved Lillian on Life. What a great voice, what energy and wit . . . very original and often extremely funny' Karen Joy Fowler

Lillian, a single, well-travelled woman of a certain age, wakes up next to her married lover and looks back at her life. It's not at all the life she expected.

Walking the unpaved road between traditional and modern options for women, Lillian has grappled with parental disappointment, society's expectations and the vagaries of love and sex. As a narrator she's bold and witty, and her reflections - from 'On Getting to Sex' to 'On the Importance of Big Pockets' or 'On Leaving in Order to Stay' - reverberate originally and unpredictably.

In Lillian on Life, Alison Jean Lester has created a brutally honest portrait of a woman living through the post-war decades of change in Munich, Paris, London and New York. Her story resonates with the glamour and energy of those cities. Charming, sometimes heartbreaking, never a stereotype, Lillian is completely herself; her view of the world is unique. You won't soon forget her.

“I'll never forgetLillian on Life. Looking backward, she's brutally honest about her needs, her lovers, her parents. Salinger could have invented her . . . Roth would have loved her . . . and so will you. A rare book, a little raunchy, but very rich and very real - Ilene Beckerman, author of Love, Loss and What I Wore Lillian on Life is a quirky book with a very deep heart and soul. I found it full of life and full of wisdom - Erica Jong In this remarkably mature first novel, Alison Jean Lester has channeled the worldly yet wistful elegance of Colette to portray an unforgettable heroine. Lillian's provocative reflections on love, vanity, sexual intimacy, and surviving as an independent woman over half a century are deeply moving - Julia Glass, author of Three Junes and The Widower s Tale What a splendid book! By turns acerbic and warm, urbane and homespun, Lillian on Life is - like its protagonist - charming, funny, and unabashedly smart. But as slender and enjoyable as this book is, it's much more than simply a lark. Each elegantly compressed chapter leaves us luxuriating in thought: about the snippets of experience so vividly depicted, and about those that have been, with perfect art, left out - Leah Hager Cohen I absolutely loved it. A delight . . . so fresh and clever and subversive - Kate Atkinson, author of Life After Life A beautifully written, deft debut; the edgy, elegant Lillian will stay with you - Adele Parks A dazzling first novel . . . In short vignettes, Lillian looks back, drawing an impressionistic portrait of a bold life full of ad”

I'll never forget Lillian on Life. Looking backward, she's brutally honest about her needs, her lovers, her parents. Salinger could have invented her . . . Roth would have loved her . . . and so will you. A rare book, a little raunchy, but very rich and very real - Ilene Beckerman, author of Love, Loss and What I Wore

Lillian on Life is a quirky book with a very deep heart and soul. I found it full of life and full of wisdom - Erica Jong

In this remarkably mature first novel, Alison Jean Lester has channeled the worldly yet wistful elegance of Colette to portray an unforgettable heroine. Lillian's provocative reflections on love, vanity, sexual intimacy, and surviving as an independent woman over half a century are deeply moving - Julia Glass, author of Three Junes and The Widower s Tale

What a splendid book! By turns acerbic and warm, urbane and homespun, Lillian on Life is - like its protagonist - charming, funny, and unabashedly smart. But as slender and enjoyable as this book is, it's much more than simply a lark. Each elegantly compressed chapter leaves us luxuriating in thought: about the snippets of experience so vividly depicted, and about those that have been, with perfect art, left out - Leah Hager Cohen

I absolutely loved it. A delight . . . so fresh and clever and subversive - Kate Atkinson, author of Life After Life

A beautifully written, deft debut; the edgy, elegant Lillian will stay with you - Adele Parks

A dazzling first novel . . . In short vignettes, Lillian looks back, drawing an impressionistic portrait of a bold life full of ad­ven­ture - erotic and otherwise - in prose spiked with unflinching observations, riotous riffs and poignant reflections - Washington Post

A delicious, sweet-sad debut novel - Sainsbury's Magazine

Alison Jean Lester was born in the United States and has variously grown up, studied, worked, written and raised her two children in the US, the UK, China, Italy, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore. She currently lives with her family in Singapore. Lillian on Life is her first novel.

'I absolutely loved it. A delight . . . so fresh and clever and subversive' Kate Atkinson'I completely loved Lillian on Life . What a great voice, what energy and wit . . . very original and often extremely funny' Karen Joy FowlerLillian, a single, well-travelled woman of a certain age, wakes up next to her married lover and looks back at her life. It's not at all the life she expected.Walking the unpaved road between traditional and modern options for women, Lillian has grappled with parental disappointment, society's expectations and the vagaries of love and sex. As a narrator she's bold and witty, and her reflections - from 'On Getting to Sex' to 'On the Importance of Big Pockets' or 'On Leaving in Order to Stay' - reverberate originally and unpredictably.In Lillian on Life , Alison Jean Lester has created a brutally honest portrait of a woman living through the post-war decades of change in Munich, Paris, London and New York. Her story resonates with the glamour and energy of those cities. Charming, sometimes heartbreaking, never a stereotype, Lillian is completely herself; her view of the world is unique. You won't soon forget her.

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