Early Morning Riser

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What to expect

‘Gorgeous. Very, very funny in a knowing wry way but so tender, so beautiful. I loved all the characters.’ Marian Keyes

‘Warm, witty, touching – and frequently hilarious’ David Nicholls, author of Sweet Sorrow

‘You put the book down and feel glad to be alive’ India Knight, Sunday Times

Jane easily falls in love with Duncan: he's charming, good-natured, and handsome. He has also slept with nearly every woman in Boyne City, Michigan.

Jane sees Duncan's old girlfriends everywhere – at restaurants, at the grocery store, even three towns away. While she may be able to come to terms with dating the world's most prolific seducer of women, she wishes she didn't have to share him quite so widely. His ex-wife, Aggie, still has Duncan mow her lawn. And his coworker Jimmy comes and goes from Duncan's apartment at the most inopportune times. Jane wonders how the relationship is supposed to work with all these people in it. But any notion Jane has of love and marriage changes with one tragic accident. Now her life is permanently intertwined with Duncan's, Aggie's, and Jimmy's, and she knows she will never have Duncan to herself. But is it possible that a deeper kind of happiness is right in front of her eyes?

A novel that is alternately bittersweet and laugh-out-loud funny, Early Morning Riser is Katherine Heiny's most astonishingly wonderful work to date.

Critics Review

  • ‘Gorgeous. Very, very funny, but so tender, so beautiful. I loved all the characters, I cared deeply’ Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups

    ‘Glorious. I love how it evokes the rhythm of life in all its joy and ordinariness and chaos. I loved the dialogue, the relationships. I love the one-liners, the humour, the gorgeous detail, the food, the innermost thoughts, and the love.’ Nina Stibbe, author of Reasons to Be Cheerful

    ‘Charming and tender, an offbeat and original gem that cracks your heart wide open’ Pandora Sykes, author of How Do We Know We’re Doing It Right?

    ‘Wise, sad and barkingly funny. Katherine Heiny writes brilliantly about what we mean by the word ‘family’ and her novel is loving without being soppy and warm without being cosy – I didn’t want it to end’ Lissa Evans, author of V for Victory

    ‘Katherine Heiny’s books feel like spending time with a smart, funny and beloved friend who always has a million interesting things to talk about but always wants to know about you, too. She is a charming and insightful and unique writer and Early Morning Riser is every bit as good as Standard Deviation, if not better’ Lisa Jewell, author of Invisible Girl

    ‘Warm, witty, touching – and frequently hilarious’ David Nicholls, author of Sweet Sorrow

    ‘Heaven. Everything I have ever craved in a novel’ Daisy Buchannan, author of Insatiable

    ‘Heiny has smart and serious things to say about care and responsibility, even as she keeps things bubbly with a steady stream of comedy provided by the novel’s gossipy close-knit community’ DAILY MAIL

    ‘Early Morning Riser is tender, funny and affecting, a charming friend of a book to ease the Covid blues’ THE BIG ISSUE

    ‘It’s a heart-warming tale of flawed, fragile, funny characters who battle unruly emotions and disappointments to seize the chance of happiness when it comes their way’ DAILY EXPRESS

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