Get Free Shipping on orders over $79
The Divorce Papers - Susan Rieger

The Divorce Papers

By: Susan Rieger

Paperback | 2 February 2015 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback


$33.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $8.44 with

 or 

Ships in 5 to 10 business days

Witty and wonderful, sparkling and sophisticated, this debut romantic comedy brilliantly tells the story of one very messy, very high-profile divorce, and the endearingly cynical young lawyer dragooned into handling it.

Twenty-nine-year-old Sophie Diehl is a criminal law associate at an old-line New England firm. Everyone at Traynor, Hand knows she abhors face-to-face contact, but with all the big partners away, Sophie must handle the intake interview for the daughter of the firm's most important client. After 18 years of marriage, Mayflower descendant Mia Meiklejohn Durkheim has just been served divorce papers, and she is locked and loaded to fight her eminent and ambitious husband, pediatric oncologist Dr. Daniel Durkheim, for custody of their 10-year-old daughter, Jane. Sophie warns Mia that she's never handled a divorce case before, but Mia insists. As she so disarmingly puts it: It's her first divorce, too.

First-time novelist Susan Rieger doesn't leave a word out of place in this hilarious and expertly crafted debut. Told through personal notes, memos, e-mails, articles, and legal papers, this playful reinvention of the epistolary form races along with humor and heartache, exploring the complicated family dynamic that results when marriage fails. The Divorce Papers will have you laughing aloud and thanking the literature gods for this fresh new voice in fiction.

About the Author

Susan Rieger is a graduate of Columbia Law School. She has worked as a residential college dean at Yale and an associate provost at Columbia. She has taught law to undergraduates at both schools and written frequently about the law for newspapers and magazines. She lives in New York City with her husband. The Divorce Papers is her first novel.
Industry Reviews
"Ingenious setup and voyeuristic pleasures...Rieger excavates the humor and humanity from a most bitter uncoupling."
--Emily Giffin, New York Times Book Review

"Fresh and lively... Smart and wonderfully entertaining... The power and canniness of this bittersweet work of epistolary fiction pulls you along... [T]his portrait of a divorce makes for serious, yet charming, entertainment... A dramatic intertwining of the law and human feelings."
--Alan Cheuse, NPR

"The Divorce Papers has more snap and freshness than a just-picked stalk of celery... The Divorce Papers is built around an undeniably clever conceit. But it's the humor and charm with which Rieger have imbued her novel that make her debut such a memorable read." --Yvonne Zipp, Christian Science Monitor

"In her clever modern twist on the epistolary form, Rieger excavates the humor and humanity from a most bitter uncoupling."
--Editor's Choice, New York Times Book Review

"Brims with brio and wit... A-" --Entertainment Weekly

"This comedy of manners... unfolds through e-mails, legal briefs, handwritten notes, and interoffice memos... the texts offer a provocative glimpse of how intimately our documents reveal us." --New Yorker

"Rieger writes with such facility and humor in so many voices... [A]n excellent yarn about the nature of love, insecurity and commitment."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A witty first novel... The engaging tale...provid[es] all the voyeuristic pleasure of snooping through someone else's inbox." (Three out of four stars) --People

"A fantastic book...excellent." --Jezebel

"Whip-smart... The characters are hilarious and brilliant." --Lucky

"A modern epistolary novel of love, lawyers and email, The Divorce Papers is sharp, clever, funny and unexpectedly tender."
--Cathleen Schine, author of The Three Weissmanns of Westport

"Smart, sophisticated, and incredibly fun, The Divorce Papers brilliantly combines the pleasures of snooping with the delights of great storytelling. I raced through these charming pages and enjoyed every one."
--Karen Thompson Walker, author of The Age of Miracles

"Exceedingly entertaining." --RealSimple.com

"The Divorce Papers is terrific fun. I relished every last letter, memo, email, and legal brief in this sneakily clever, insidery peek into the world of privileged families and the lawyers who serve them."
--Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians

"A sharp take on the dissolution of a high-profile marriage...hilarious." --EW.com

"Clever and funny... Lovers of the epistolary style will find much to appreciate. Rieger's tone, textured structure, and lively voice make this debut a winner."
--Publishers Weekly (starred)

"Rieger brilliantly blends the serious and the comic... The verdict: if you like your fiction smart and witty, The Divorce Papers is a winner."
--Shelf Awareness (starred)

"A brutally comic chronicle of high-end divorce... Extremely clever."
--Kirkus (starred)

"Susan Rieger brings her real-life experience as a lawyer to the table in this debut romantic comedy that's written, refreshingly, in the epistolary style."
--Cosmopolitan.com

"A fun, riveting and rollicking read that will make you wonder what first-time author Susan Rieger has up her sleeve next." --Bookreporter

"Witty and engaging... The Divorce Papers is a sharp read and an impressive debut. [Rieger's] prose--peppered with literary, historical and philosophical references--is whip smart." --BookPage

"Where Rieger excels is with her characters. Sophie and her crowd are witty, insightful, and interesting people... [A] refreshing and absorbing read."
--Booklist

"[C]risp and irreverent and highly entertaining... Diehl is a character you will like immediately and want to get to know better. She, her friends, family, and co-workers are deliciously interesting." --Federal Lawyer

More in Modern & Contemporary Fiction

In a Common Hour - Sita Walker

RRP $34.99

$22.99

34%
OFF
Pilbara - Judy Nunn

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF
Past the Shallows - Favel Parrett

RRP $22.99

$20.75

10%
OFF
Soft Serve - George Kemp

Paperback

RRP $29.99

$24.99

17%
OFF
The Wild Card : Vancouver Storm 5 - Stephanie Archer

RRP $24.99

$21.75

13%
OFF
Side Character Energy - Olivia Tolich

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF
All That We See or Seem - Ken Liu

RRP $32.99

$26.99

18%
OFF
This Book Made Me Think of You - Libby Page

RRP $34.99

$22.99

34%
OFF
Lost Lambs - Madeline Cash

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$22.99

34%
OFF
Seed - Elisabeth Easther

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$22.99

34%
OFF
The Distinctly Competent District Councillor - Jonas Jonasson

RRP $29.99

$19.99

33%
OFF
Rytual - Chloe Elisabeth Wilson

Paperback

RRP $24.99

$21.75

13%
OFF
Best Crime Stories of the Year Volume 4 - Otto Penzler

RRP $22.99

$20.75

10%
OFF
The Suite Secret : London Hearts Series: Book Two - Tierney Page

RRP $22.99

$18.99

17%
OFF
The Ten Year Affair - Erin Somers

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF
You & Me and You & Me and You & Me - Josie Lloyd

RRP $34.99

$19.99

43%
OFF
Inheritance : The Lost Bride Trilogy - Nora Roberts
The Winner - David Baldacci

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$19.99

43%
OFF