Don't Be a Stranger by Susan Minot and her beautiful prose, captivating characters. This was a great story!
The premise of the book is very interesting. I enjoyed the story and the characters. The novel is beautifully written

Thank You NetGalley and Knopf for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Susan Minot's DON'T BE A STRANGER was a non finisher for me. I truly wished I enjoyed it more, being enchanted with Minot's deft touch with characterization such as Maira's entrance as the person at the center of an overgrowing abundance of friends and moments such as Ivy's realizations about a beloved that they have put down an anchor and it's to her how she responds. However, the remote perspective kept me plodding through, hoping for connection, for relating to a person in other than the intellectual, safe distance of third person many times removed. I deeply admire Minot's potential, deeply mourn that it was not apparent to me in this artfully crafted piece. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Susan Minot does an amazing job immersing the reader in the obsessive, ecstatic, and dejected emotions of her main character. It's a rollercoaster and at times, the behavior of the character is frustrating, but it's also relatable because the emotions are so real. A great book for those that love rich characters and interiority.

A novel of obsession and, to be honest, bad decisions. Ivy, 52, is raising her son Nicky in the NYC apartment she bought with earnings from her writing but something is missing until she meets Ansel, a much younger stereotypical bad boy character. They push pull against one another with Ivy seeking more of a relationship than Ansel, Minot has a (and it's odd to say this) graceful way of writing about their physical relationship. I'll be honest and say that I saw this would play out from the beginning but kept reading because I was growing fond of Nicky and was curious about how Minot was going to get to the end. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction.

This book is exceptionally well written. I enjoy reading about older main characters who portrayal aging as normal and fun. Ivy is 53 years old, recently divorced living with his 9 year old son in New York. She's a writer who tries to keep a healthy social life and through one of her closest friends meets Ansel, a 35 year old musician with who she starts a tumultuous sexual relationship. Ansel is very clear since the start that he's not looking for commitment and Ivy accepts to keep seeing him, and eventually these encounters consume her life and thoughts becoming very close to obsession. It's a bit sad yet relatable to read how Ivy gets rejected all the time, I think it's a situation most women have lived. I took off 1 star because I found the ending to be a bit confusing, not much closure to speak of. I still recommend it just for the writing itself.

I thought this book was a little choppy. First it starts off as an older divorced mom who starts a booty call situation with a younger musician who just got out of jail and refuses to commit to her. Ok. I mean what do you expect? This isn’t a fantasy novel. Then the book goes into some Yellow Wallpaper crazy part with the main characters going to different rooms. Yoga? Counseling? Is she crazy? Has she just lost her mind? But nope. Part three is all about her son and a tonsillectomy gone wrong.

I mean I get the basic gist of the book. Divorce. Lonely. Hot sex. Unrequited love. Craziness. Selfishness. Almost losing what is really important brings it all back together. But it just wasn’t cohesive enough for me. It was not a bad book - although the parts with the rooms was a bit strange to me.

Mostly I felt sorry for Ivy. And I really didn’t want to feel sorry for her.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

I've enjoyed Susan Minot in the past, but this outing felt like something of a slog. There was some beautiful, original writing, not unusual in the character study that this is, But someone with as much intelligence and empathy would not make some of the stupid choices that Ivy, our heroine, makes. As other early readers have noted, Ivy is a 52 year old newly divorced woman, living in a Greenwich Village flat, supporting herself and her 8 year old son by writing. She has a great reputation as a writer, is given assignments that result in paychecks during which she is working on another book to publish. When she becomes besotted with a love affair with a much younger man, she continues earning. But when he snaps his fingers, she capitulates and stresses if he doesn't pay her but mere attention. I just couldn't warm up to either her or her lover, in fact he's really something of a jerk. In fact, despite all their pluses, neither is not very interesting at all. And so page after page of descriptions of booty calls and child care simply wore me down. You can see how this will pan out long before it ends, 2 ½ stars rounded up because of those lovely phrases that cropped up now and then,

If there was ever a book that can be called a 'character study', this is it. Ivy's in the early 50s. She's divorced and has a middle-school aged son. She left Virginia to live in New York City. She's a writer. This book explored her meeting and pursing a sort of relationship with Ansel, a much younger man, who has been recently been released from prison.

Ivy's obsession centers on her lack of touch/desire for any man other than her ex for so long. Ansel almost treats her as an aside. He's using her body to fulfill his sexual needs, but otherwise keeps her at arms length. While physically, they match, there are other needs that Ivy has that will never be met.

This is a good slice of Ivy's life. Early 50s...I'm closer to that than to my 20s. It's something I almost fear, so reading about Ivy, who still has a vibrant life is somewhat encouraging.

Susan Minot is a fabulous writer and I will be seeking out her other books.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Susan Minot’s novel, Monkeys, is one of my favorite books of all time. It made me emote — and the writing is just so good. I was so excited to see that she had a new book publishing soon.

DON’T BE A STRANGER is the story of Ivy, a 52-year-old divorced woman who moves from DC to NYC with her young son shortly after her marriage ends. She’s a writer who struggles being a mother with her newly single status. X is introduced to Ansel through mutual friends. Ansel, a singer who spent some time in prison (minor drug charge),is somewhat mysterious and Ivy becomes intrigued by him. Then they have sex and it’s all over for Ivy. She craves Ansel.

Ansel is very clear about what he wants — (sex). Ivy becomes obsessed and wants more. The writing is beautiful here but there are just so many times you can read about hot sex and disappointment with the same man. (Yes, @melli , I said it.). I will say that Susan Minot gets unrequited desire for more than sex in a way that is so on-point.

Susan Minot has written a beautiful look at a fifty year old divorcee’s exploration of self. The world needs more books on women in this stage of life. Despite not personally fitting the profile of an over-fifty mother of an elementary-age child, divorced and on her own once again, I was relieved to be offered the opportunity, through this book, to feel empathy for Ivy.

Ivy finds herself in an awakening love affair with an unlikely pairing - a significantly younger musician, who is not interested in commitment, or even any sort of dependability. This throws Ivy back into a sort of pre-marital self-exploration. Having already met many of society’s expectations for a young woman, she goes back to this young-woman-type experience, and tries it on without expectation. Feelings and desires arise, long embedded in her as appropriate and expected. She plays with whether her developing expectations for this man are learned or natural, and whether she’s capable of meeting him where he is.

All of the inner struggles she experiences feel honest, real, and in that way, messy. The reader is ultimately met with a fifty year old woman who is struggling with a new, perhaps truer, sense of self.

The last section of the book took a completely new format (the colored rooms, if you’ve read it), which lost me a little. I was, until that point, reading ravenously. I do understand the utility of it, as the format drives through time quickly, shows her growth without having to detail every step. But it did feel a little disappointing.

All in, lovely book about a subject that needs more attention. Thank you, NetGalley and Knopf, for the arc.

Don't Be A Stranger tells the story of 52 year old Ivy, a divorced mother with a 9 year old son. Ivy's friend introduces her to Ansel, an up and coming musician in his thirties, who was recently released from prison. Ivy's work as a writer and her role as a mother are impacted by her obsession with Ansel, who tells Ivy from the start he is not looking for a relationship. Chapter after chapter, the novel shows how Ivy adapts her life with the hope Ansel may return a text and agree to see her for a brief moment of intimacy. Don't Be a Stranger is a psychological thriller about a lost, lonely woman.

Don't Be a Stranger is a deeply moving book as we follow Ivy struggle, hurt, and try to make sense of life and all the curveballs thrown. Thoughtful and rich in description of feelings and the world Ivy inhabits, it is easy to be caught up in her life and see what she sees and feel what she is feeling. The author evokes brilliant images and the book is so easy to dive into. HIghly recommended. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

This was a weird one. It was very slow and dull, too sex obsessed in a creepy way, and felt like it was trying too hard, there was no plot so it was kind of pointless to me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and especially the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review of the book!!

I did not finish this book. I read about 35 percent but this book was too slow plot wise and too character driven for me. I liked that the main character was a woman at midlife exploring love and sex in something other than a traditional monogamous relationship but the pacing of this book just wasn’t for me. We need more protagonist woman in midlife so I’m happy to see this and this book will be exactly someone’s taste just not mine right now.

Will always recommend a book where the middle age FMC gets some loving. Especially if that loving delves into the darker psyche and are most basic instincts. Minot's writing is as sharp as it ever was.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

"Don't Be a Stranger" by Susan Minot is a captivating collection that delves into the complexities of human relationships with elegance and insight. Minot's prose is both lyrical and precise, making each story resonate deeply. It's a powerful and intimate exploration of the connections that define us.

Don't Be a Stranger by Susan Minot is a mesmerizing exploration of desire, loneliness, and the complicated nature of love at mid-life. Minot's prose is as captivating as ever, drawing you into Ivy Cooper's world where the lines between responsibility and obsession blur in the most intoxicating way. The relationship between Ivy and Ansel is both unsettling and irresistible, a magnetic pull that feels as dangerous as it is thrilling. Minot masterfully captures the intensity of Ivy’s longing and the way it fractures her life, creating a narrative that is as sensual as it is haunting. This isn’t just a story about an affair; it’s a deep dive into the hunger for connection and the lengths we’ll go to feel truly alive. If you’re in the mood for a novel that will sweep you off your feet and leave you contemplating the complexities of love and desire, Don't Be a Stranger is a must-read.

This book was very simple, and the humor was very dry. The main problem I had is there is no quotation marks in the dialogue. It really irks me when authors do this, and recently it seems A LOT of authors are using this lazy prose, very Sally Rooney-esque. For me personally, I don't get it. It ruins the flow and ease of reading a novel. Also, the May/December romance has been done to death. I don't understand what the point of this book was. If you like novels with more substance to them, then this book isn't for you.

3.5 Stars

This was an interesting character study of a woman in her early fifties with a grammar school-aged son, a divorcee living in New York City. She had not been with a man in years, since leaving her ex-husband- until she was set up with a brooding musician almost twenty years younger. This ignites an obsession with this man that accounts for a major struggle in the book. There are sudden, random meetups for sexual gratification that account for the meat of the relationship. Ivy's common sense is compromised as she juggles trying her best to be a good mom, maintaining her writing career, while wanting more of this mysterious and self-contained man.

I was riveted by Ivy's encounters with Ansel, for the fervent intensity of their carnal appetites, while Ivy struggled to draw out Ansel's feelings and perceptions. I grew impatient watching Ivy's tortured psyche dealing with this man as he kept her at a close tether physically, but distant from any measurable depth of human feeling. It was kind of like a circular argument without end, and it made me nervous and angry that this was drawing energy from attention to her son- her priority. There were intermittent passages of prose as she navigated this whirlwind of emotions, a trope which I do not appreciate in writing as I enjoy more of a literal approach. The book could have been edited down more as a lot of the relationship felt repetitive.

Thank you to the publisher Knopf for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

Obsessive intimacy, or addiction, is sensitively tracked here by Minot who has a poetic turn of phrase and can sometimes force the reader to a standstill with the aptness or perfection of a line or observation. Her story dodges between the lover and the child, as the narrator treads her uncomfortable path to release. Both topics could be said to be over-indulged. Yet the book redeems itself with the honesty of Ivy’s struggle for freedom and the ultimate, lonely peace she finds. I admired this.