Courtney Maum
Courtney Maum is the author of the novels Touch and I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You, the chapbook Notes from Mexico, and the handbook Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book. Her writing and essays have been widely published in such outlets as BuzzFeed; The New York Times; O, The Oprah Magazine; and Modern Loss. She is the founder of the learning collaborative The Cabins, and she also works as a product and cosmetic shade namer from her home in Connecticut.
Praise
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“Delightful. . . . In Lara, Maum has given a little-considered daughter a more hopeful future”
—Mona Simpson, The New York Times Book Review
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“Taut and lush.”
—The Washington Post
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“Reveals the power a mother holds over her daughter.”
—TIME
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“Delivered in spades. Highly recommended.”
—Glamour, Best Books of the Decade
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“Slender, intelligent. . . . A portrait of the young woman amidst the artists.“
—The Boston Globe
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“Beautiful. . . . A story about growing up and looking for love.”
—GOOP
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“A whimsical and poignant account of art and self-discovery, explored through the lens of a girl who yearns to be understood.”
—Buzzfeed
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“An excellent way to spend a summer weekend.”
—Vulture
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“A vividly drawn novel of family, sacrifice, and the limits of understanding.”
—Southern Living
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“A mesmerizing story of alienation, intimacy, and the elusive powers of art.”
—NYLON
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“Its charm lies less in its summarizable qualities . . . than in Maum’s superb balance between humor and grief, and her talent for saying just enough, never too much.”
—BOMB
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“Compelling. . . . freshly original and unusual.”
—Book Riot
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“Maum’s coming-of-age novel among some of Europe’s elite is heartbreaking in its evocation of a teenage girl whose mother collects artists to save but who ignores the daughter struggling not to drown.”
—Star Tribune
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“An intimate fever dream.”
—Los Angeles Review of Books
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“An arty, lavish novel, Costalegre examines one of the relationships that is often the most surreal to dissect: the one between mother and daughter.”
—Thrillist
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“A rich and delectable tale of art, love, and war.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
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“Enchanting.”
—Kirkus, Starred Review
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“A brilliantly arch and haunting novel of privilege and deprivation.”
—Booklist
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“A soul-searching, atmospheric novel set in a hot, humid climate as torrid as the affairs of the characters who inhabit it.”
—Library Journal
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“Mesmerizing and unsettling, Costalegre is a wonder, and Courtney Maum shows herself once again to be a writer of many gifts. This is a book for anyone who’s ever loved, and not felt sufficiently loved in return; and for anyone who’s had to try to grow up; for, that is, everyone.”
—R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries
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“As heady, delirious, and heartbreaking as a young girl just beginning to fall in love with the world.”
—Samantha Hunt, author of The Seas
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“A spectacular high-wire act that dazzles and devastates.”
—Laura van den Berg, author of The Third Hotel
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“A special book, by a writer who proves on these pages that she can do anything.”
—Julie Buntin, author of Marlena
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“Memorable and meaningful, Maum’s work remains with me as a reminder of love in the agony of teenage years and art in the terror of war.”
—Amelia Gray, author of Isadora
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“With its captivating mix of true-to-life characters and WWII history, Costalegre is surreal, intelligent, and full of integrity.”
—Mark Eisner, author of Neruda: The Biography of a Poet