The Amnesiac: A Novel

Summary

A brilliant, ingeniously structured novel about art, love, and deeply held secrets from New York Times bestselling author Jami Attenberg

What happens when, over the course of twenty-four hours, your lifelong aspiration suddenly goes up in flames? Who are you when your dreams disappear and how do you live without them?

In The Amnesiac, Nicole Abernathy has to figure out exactly that when her debut novel receives a scathing, career-detonating review. After she and her husband take a trip to New Orleans—to dance, drink, and forget about life for a while—they end up falling in love with the beautiful, crumbling city and decide to move there on a whim, leaving their New York lives behind.

But in New Orleans her husband’s adventurous spirit begins to reveal itself to be something more surprising, and Nicole begins to wonder how much, exactly, he’s hiding from her. It’s time to come to terms with what she’s really made of—as an artist, a friend, and most of all, a woman—and what it truly means to take care of yourself.

Boldly structured and spanning fifteen years, The Amnesiac shows us all the juicy, dramatic, and unexpected ways our lives can unfold.