Good on Paper

THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SECOND NOVEL FROM THE WRITER EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL (STATION ELEVEN) CALLS SHARP, WITTY, AND IMMENSELY ENTERTAINING Is a new life possible? Because Shira Greene s life hasn t quite turned out as planned. She s a single mom living with her daughter and her gay friend, Ahmad. Her PhD on Dante s Vita Nuova hasn t gotten her a job, and her career as a translator hasn t exactly taken off either.

But then she gets a call from a Nobel Prize-winning Italian poet who insists she s the only one who can translate his newest book.

Stunned, Shira realizes that just like that her life can change. She sees a new beginning beckoning: academic glory, demand for her translations, and even love (her good luck has made her feel more open to the entreaties of a neighborhood indie bookstore owner).

There s only one problem: It all hinges on the translation, and as Shira starts working on the exquisitely intricate passages of the poet s book, she realizes that it may in fact be, well ... impossible to translate.

A deft, funny, and big-hearted novel about second chances, Good on Paper is a grand novel of family, friendship, and possibility.