This book got a ton of press and praise so I had very high expectations for it-but it was just okay. The plot didn't hold my attention and I found it a struggle to finish,

A man and a woman walk into a restaurant. The woman expects a lovely night filled with endless plates of samosas. Instead, she finds out her husband is having an affair with a woman named Maggie. A short while after, her chest starts to ache. She walks into an examination room, where she finds out the pain in her breast isn’t just heartbreak—it’s cancer. She decides to call the tumor Maggie.

The book starts out funny and light, like the preview suggests, turning tragedy into humor, but after a while, it gets to be more of the same and more of the same and more of the same. There are no 'chapters' just asterisks separating segments of text. Initially I said it reads like a memoir, but really, it reads like a stand up comedy. The jabs here and there made me smile (they were funny) but the plot was weak.

If you need something light, silly, and just to get out of your own head, Maggie will do the trick. Otherwise, maybe save it for another day.

Count me in the camp that really liked this novel narrated by a wife and mother of 2, who learns that her husband wants a divorce and that she has breast cancer in quick succession. She calls the tumor Maggie, named after the woman her husband has been having an affair.

Her story is told in a vignette format, sharing bits and pieces of her childhood, her mom's own breast cancer experience, her marriage, and her experience as a mom. I thought the story was told so realistically, just like a woman who is in shock after the one-two punch of her husband's affair and breast cancer. I even double-checked part way through my reading to confirm this was fiction and not someone's memoir. To me, it really does read like a woman telling her friend or writing down in a journal everything that's going through her mind. I especially loved the Chinese folklore stories she tells her children throughout the book.

This story will stick with me, which is a huge compliment with so many books out there that I read, put down, and promptly forget about. I highly recommend it!
Many thanks to #SimonandSchuster #SummitBooks for access to a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I had no concept of what I was choosing, except that I found it on a recommendation forum. Well, it’s a charming, witty, sad, thoughtful story of a wife and mom who finds out on the same day that her husband is cheating on her with a woman named Maggie and wants to split that she also has cancer. So, it’s the story of reconciling and dealing with treatment and maintaining her role as mom and also with her separation and this new entity called “Maggie.”

I was pleasantly surprised and it’s a short read that is worthy of a pick up.

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Happy Pub Day to MAGGIE; OR, A MAN AND A WOMAN WALK INTO A BAR. You don’t have to take it from me because so many people already love this book, but wow. This was a banger. It’s only 200 pages and yet so layered with the love, grief, aging, anger and humor that comes with a lived-in life and a self well-explored. Thank you @summitbooks and @emergencychampagne for the gifted copy. Can’t wait to see what the talented Katie Yee does next!

This was an easy book to fly through. Every line was brilliant. A whole feast of emotions and observations, lots of quotes to highlight, and fun, subtle humor amidst heavy topics. Appreciated the short chapters. Would recommend to anyone!

Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar is a darkly funny, emotionally fractured debut that reads like a sad girl spiral in short, sharp bursts. After learning her husband is cheating and she has breast cancer, the unnamed narrator names her tumor after the mistress and starts narrating her own downfall with dry wit and a side of Chinese folklore.

The structure is intentionally fragmented, which mirrors the chaos of her life but sometimes made me crave a little more connection between the pieces. There’s real beauty here—especially in the myths and memories passed down from her mother—but it occasionally felt like the emotional impact skimmed the surface rather than digging in.

Smart, strange, and stylistically bold. I admired the craft, even if I didn’t totally connect.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Katie Yee's debut novel presents one of those premises that sounds almost too darkly comic to be real: a woman discovers her husband's affair with someone named Maggie, then promptly receives a breast cancer diagnosis and decides to name her tumor after the other woman. What could have been a cheap gimmick instead becomes a surprisingly nuanced exploration of how we process unimaginable tragedy through the mundane details of daily life. The unnamed narrator's response to these twin catastrophes isn't the explosive anger or dramatic breakdown you might expect, but rather a kind of thoughtful dissociation that feels both unsettling and remarkably authentic. Yee captures the strange numbness that can accompany life-altering news, showing how sometimes we cope by simply continuing to make school lunches and attend PTA meetings while our world quietly implodes.

The novel's greatest strength lies in Yee's ability to find profound meaning in the seemingly inconsequential moments that make up a life in transition. Through her narrator's observations about waiting rooms, being the perpetual photographer rather than subject, and the difference between fear and worry, Yee gives voice to countless everyday thoughts that usually remain unspoken. The fragmented, vignette-style structure mirrors the disjointed nature of processing trauma, though it occasionally keeps readers at arm's length from the emotional core. The narrator's "User's Manual" for Maggie—a list of instructions for caring for her soon-to-be ex-husband—is both hilariously passive-aggressive and heartbreakingly generous, perfectly capturing the complexity of loving someone who has betrayed you.

While some readers might crave more righteous anger or dramatic confrontation, there's something refreshingly honest about the narrator's measured response to her circumstances. Her almost clinical detachment feels like a realistic portrayal of shock rather than a failure of emotional depth. The humor throughout is sharp and unexpected, finding levity in darkness without diminishing the genuine pain of divorce and illness. Yee demonstrates remarkable wisdom for a debut novelist, particularly in her understanding of how mothers continue functioning even when their personal lives are in free fall.

*Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar* succeeds as both an unconventional divorce narrative and a meditation on resilience. It's the kind of book that will particularly resonate with women who have experienced major life upheavals and found themselves surprised by their own capacity to endure. Though the deliberately understated approach might leave some readers wanting more emotional fireworks, Yee's quiet brilliance lies in showing how extraordinary strength can look remarkably ordinary from the outside.

Maggie is a wonderfully quirky, funny, and surprisingly touching read that turns heartbreak and illness into something both empowering and deeply human. The story follows a woman whose world unravels when her husband announces he's leaving her for another woman—only for her to be diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after. In a bold, darkly comedic move, she names her tumor Maggie—the same name as the woman who blew up her marriage.

Despite the heavy themes, Katie Yee brings a lightness and wit that makes this book feel like a cathartic conversation with a sharp, hilarious friend. As a recent divorcée and mother, I found the emotional core of the story incredibly relatable. The author does a fantastic job capturing the contradictions of grief, anger, humor, and hope—all in a voice that feels both fresh and genuine.

A heads-up to readers: the book is short and doesn’t include chapter breaks, which means it reads like one seamless, compelling monologue. I couldn’t put it down and ended up finishing it in a single sitting.

One standout character is the narrator’s friend, Darlene—a true gem who provides comic relief and fierce loyalty. She’s exactly the kind of friend you’d want in your corner when life falls apart.

Maggie is the kind of book that sneaks up on you—charming, sharp, and quietly profound. Highly recommended for fans of voice-driven fiction with heart and humor.

So many accolades have been given for this book. I am sorry but I did not like the disjointed writing style. There was a lot of back and forth from present to past, which I found confusing. Sonia, the narrator, told the story in vignettes, little stories that never really tied together. She was very dry and uninteresting. As far as Alex, the critic, giving Haley a one star review and then taking her home for the night without disclosing who he was--that was a BS move. Haley took her revenge through public shaming. The book should have been more entertaining than it was. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the complementary digital ARC. This review is my own opinion and not coerced in any way.

This book was truly lovely; it recounts a woman’s journey in her husband leaving her for another woman and then finding out she has cancer. It shared vignettes from her life that are gorgeously written. It is a lovely reflective book that reminded me a lot of Catherine Newman and Nora Ephron books I’ve read. I loved this quick read and think you will too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this book in one sitting and absolutely loved it. About a marriage falling apart and a cancer diagnosis. Sounds like too much, but this story is told with tenderness and humor. It will stay with me for a long time.

This book has received breathless blurbs from practically everyone, not to mention comparisons to Crying in H Mart and Sandwich. But although the prose is lovely and each sentence is crafted for maximum impact and wit, I struggled to find any emotional connection to the narrator or any of the events of the novel.

At some point, I began to actually resent the great writing because it seemed to be getting in the way of telling the story. Despite having so much fertile emotional ground to cover, the book seemed to glide over the surface of everything, substituting observations and vignettes for emotion and character development.

3.5 stars, rounded up because at a slim 200 pages of mostly one-page sections, this was the rare literary work that is also a quick read.

Happy Pub Day to MAGGIE; OR, A MAN AND A WOMAN WALK INTO A BAR. You don’t have to take it from me because so many people already love this book, but wow. This was a banger. It’s only 200 pages and yet so layered with the love, grief, aging, anger and humor that comes with a lived-in life and a self well-explored. Thank you @summitbooks and @emergencychampagne for the gifted copy. Can’t wait to see what the talented Katie Yee does next!

Ok, this book is damn weird. There is no other way to put it. I requested this book from Netgalley because I thought the title was so clever I couldn’t resist it, so maybe I shouldn’t do that again? This book is not bad and I definitely didn’t dislike it, I liked some parts of it a lot but it just wasn’t really a book. It is a stream of consciousness with no plot or chapters, just the rumination of a woman going through a terrible time. Our unnamed narrator is a wife and mother who finds out that her husband is cheating on her and wants a divorce and that she has breast cancer. She is very detached about both of these calamities. Particularly the way the book addresses her husband’s infidelity is so strange to me. She makes it seem like she is a completely passive participant in all of this. She doesn’t get angry or put up a fight she just goes along with everything. It find it very strange. This book contains a lot of wisdom about relationships, identity and parenthood but if you like a straight narrative this is not the book for you.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an advanced copy of this book.

The main topics of this short novel are divorce and breast cancer--neither of these topics is usually humorous, but Katie Yee makes it so. Warm-hearted and insightful.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc off this new novel via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar is such a unique book! It is funny, sad, strange, and totally unorthodox. However, I LOVED it!

The author, Katie Yee, does such a great job of relaying everyday musings. She makes countless observations about life, divorce, relationships, PTA, fear and worry and so many more. She does it all while also knowing when to inject humor in just the right places. I loved the Chinese stories her narrator told throughout. I underlined so many parts of this book that I could relate to.

The story is simple. The narrator has been told by her husband that he has been cheating on her and wants a divorce. Shortly after that, the narrator finds out she might have a serious health condition. Then the narrator continues on with her musings, observations and her stories to her children.

This book is a gem! Read it!

I read the e-arc for Maggie: or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee. This brief novel tells the story of the disintegration of a marriage. Sam takes her out to dinner. One last lovely meal and while at dinner he casually destroys their life. He tells her he is having an affair and that he loves Maggie and he is moving out - marriage over. She handles it well. Just wants to get home and end this nightmare. Sam is the kind of dad that says he is babysitting his kids when he is just parenting them. I hate Sam. He is not a bad guy, he just is not a good guy. It's sad and poignant and funny. Oh yeah, and a couple days after he ends their marriage, she finds out her chestpain is not hearbreak but breast cancer. Can it get worse? It's well written, well paced story that I enjoyed - I laughed, I cried, I hated Sam. This book was released Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Thank you to Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for my advanced reader copy. #SimonBooksBuddy

I'm a big fan of short novels that pack a punch with emotion, and I was hoping that this one would have that kind of effect for me. It sort of did. I was engaged enough to keep reading, and the writing was good. However, for all this woman was going through (divorce, cancer), I didn't relate to her emotional reactions. I liked the humor she brought to her experiences, but everything just felt muted and wasn't able to connect as much as would have liked for this kind of "short with an emotional punch" novel. Oh, and the title is just so unwieldy - I think another choice could have been much more catchy and effective.

Author Katie Yee makes her novelistic debut with Maggie, or a Man and a Woman Walk into a Bar. A mother of two young children is blindsided when her husband reveals that he is having an affair with a woman named Maggie; almost simultaneously, she learns she has breast cancer, and so she decides to name her cancer Maggie, too. Now she and her soon-to-be-ex each have a Maggie. This novel is a vivid, authentic, utterly believable narrative that hijacked my attention from the other books I was reading. My thanks go to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the review copy. This book will be available to the public on July 22, 2025.

“They talk about women’s intuition…I never suspected a thing.”

The way that she contends with the news is completely different from how I would respond, and yet I believe her entirely. There’s no drama, no crying; at least, not when anyone is there to see her. Instead, she eats a lot and tries to maintain some dignity for herself. The scales are so badly skewed against her; Sam comes from heart stopping wealth, the sort of family that has multiple houses peppered around the U.S., and a couple of favorite places they like to stay in Europe. Our protagonist, whose name I am fairly sure is never provided, hails from the hardscrabble working class. And in leaving, her husband tells her that she can have the house as well as a generous chunk of alimony. If it were me and I were inclined to be nasty about it, all that money might stop me dead in my tracks, since clearly, the guy could get away with giving her far less if she really wanted to push him.

So instead, she sets some hard new boundaries. She won’t tell Sam about the cancer, at least not yet. She doesn’t want the awkwardness, the one where she witnesses him struggling with what is the right thing to do, versus what he’d rather do. No, she decides, it’s not his business anymore. And then she names the cancer after his girlfriend.

Maybe she’s a little passive aggressive, but who can blame her? It’s all she has left.

This novel has some power behind it, and if this is Yee’s debut, I can hardly wait to see what she writes when she has more experience. I recommend this book to any woman that enjoys contemporary fiction, especially those that have been jilted, and to progressive-minded men as well.