The bestselling author of Rodham and American Wife returns with an enthralling, humorous and subversive tale set in the world of a live TV comedy show, as a script writer who has given up on romance finds her world upended by an unexpected encounter.
With a series of heartbreaks under her belt, Sally Milz - successful TV script writer for a legendary late-night TV comedy show - has long abandoned the search for love.
But when her friend and fellow writer begins to date a glamorous actress, he joins the growing club of interesting but average-looking men who get to date accomplished, beautiful women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch, poking fun at this 'social rule'. The reverse never happens for a woman.
Then Sally meets Noah, a pop idol with a reputation for dating models. But this isn't a romantic comedy - it's real life. Would someone like him ever date someone like her?
Skewering all our certainties about why we fall in love, Romantic Comedy is a witty and probing tale of how the heart will follow itself, no matter what anyone says. It is Curtis Sittenfeld at her most sharp, daring and compassionate best.
Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 9780857527493
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 536 g
Dimensions: 240 x 162 x 31 mm
I am obsessed with this book. A warm, wise, magnanimous and extremely funny novel which made me fall in love with the characters and feel happier about life. Sittenfeld writes with such insight and poignancy about the quirks of the human condition. ROMANTIC COMEDY should be prescribed to anyone needing their mood lifted - ELIZABETH DAY
No-one writes romantic yearning as brilliantly and believably as Curtis Sittenfeld. I could not have adored this book more. - DAISY BUCHANAN, author of INSATIABLE
A rollercoaster of modern love and dating - STYLIST, Books to look forward to in 2023
Probably my favourite proof I've read for 2023, by one of my all-time favourite authors Curtis Sittenfeld... it's a brilliantly written, funny page-turner, I want to read it all again. - PANDORA SYKES
Her zingy new novel. While Sittenfeld knows the dramatic value of putting obstacles in the path of characters you're rooting for, she also isn't above giving readers what they want - and that's exactly what she does in this affable, intelligently-crafted tale of work and love - GUARDIAN
Biting, pacy and great fun. - SUNDAY TIMES, Books to Look Forward to
A gloriously quick-witted, intelligent love story, with sparkling dialogue and a satisfying plot - THE BOOKSELLER
One of the most compelling, funny and gorgeous novels I've read in a long time. Curtis Sittenfield is a master of dialogue, and this love story packs serious emotional heft that will leave you rooting for its characters right til the very end. - OTEGHA UWAGBA
I love Curtis Sittenfeld - BRYONY GORDON
i am excited beyond belief. This is THE literary event of the year for me - MARINA HYDE
Curtis has a gift for writing women. Her characters spill off the page in all their messy, complex glory - STYLIST
Curtis Sittenfeld's zingy new novel tackles media celebrity, the pandemic and romantic frustration with ambition and panache...[An] affable, intelligently crafted tale of work and love - OBSERVER
A witty, joyful, propulsive new take on the 'celebrity and the civilian' trope, Sittenfeld's novel feels like a classic dish prepared by a master chef and using only the freshest ingredients. I was so sad to say goodbye to these characters; I could have read 300 more pages, easily - CAROLINE O'DONOGHUE
The abiding pleasure of romantic comedy is that we can worry that they won't while knowing that they will. The genre acts as its own spoiler alert while somehow never lessening the suspense - WASHINGTON POST
Getting inside a living person's head sounds like a colossally bad idea, but Sittenfeld makes it convincing here, just as she did with a character based on First Lady Laura Bush in her 2008 novel, American Wife - BBC CULTURE
Smart, funny, and a fascinating look behind the scenes of a sketch show. Exquisite - WOMAN & HOME
A thoughtful discourse on celebrity - THE TIMES
Smart, funny and a fascinating look behind the scenes of a sketch show, it's another exquisitely written novel from Sittenfeld - WOMAN & HOME
[An] exhilarating love story that will restore your faith in humanity - RED
A new novel from one of my very favourite writers...Bliss! - GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
If anyone who can simultaneously skewer and revere the underappreciated rom com genre it's the author of Prep and Eligible - THE I-NEWS
Expect lots of laughs and dry irony - DAILY EXPRESS
Sittenfeld's well-crafted will-they-won't-they tale pairs irresistible escapism with equally satisfying observational expertise - MAIL ON SUNDAY
Curtis Sittenfeld has made a name for herself by writing reliably smart, funny romantic heroines. Her new novel makes it official with a refreshingly irreverent take on the genre. Very funny - DAILY EXPRESS
Like all the best romantic comedies, the tension lies in the will-they-won't-they back and forth of the story arc and true to all the best examples of the genre, readers will be rooting for Sally to have her much-deserved happy-ever-after - MARIE-CLAIRE, BEST BOOKS OF 2023
Scapel-sharp - DAILY MAIL
Witty and sharp - BELLA MAGAZINE
Smart, sophisticated and fun - OPRAH DAILY
Delightful. The woman narrating ROMANTIC COMEDY is hyper-aware of the conventions of romantic comedy, and she knows full well that real life is no fairytale. But could it be this time? - WASHINGTON POST
Sittenfeld's latest takes a shot of SNL and makes sparks fly - ELLE
Hilarious, heartwarming - HARPER'S BAZAAR
If you're looking for a romance with edge, this book is for you. The writing is as intelligent and funny as you'd expect from the author of classics such as American Wife and it's a properly swoonsome love story - GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
Cancel plans and dive into bestselling author Sittenfeld's hilarious take on the classic will-they-won't-they storyline - ELLE
Written by one of the very best out there, Romantic Comedy is a novel that you won't want to put down and one you'll want to recommend to everyone you know - GLAMOUR
An enthralling, humorous and subversive tale set in the world of a live TV comedy show - STYLIST
Whip-smart, funny and a fascinating look behind the scenes of a sketch show. Curtis Sittenfeld has penned another exquisitely written novel - WOMAN'S WEEKLY
A piercing look at the genre of Romcom set against the backdrop of a Saturday Night Live-esque TV show - a rollercoaster of modern love and dating - STYLIST
I ate it up whole. Joyful - EVA WISEMAN, OBSERVER
Get lost in a modern romantic fantasy - DAILY RECORD
A humorous take on Hollywood romcoms - BBC BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
Sexy, funny, thought-provoking and everything I hoped it would be. Her best novel since American Wife. - RED, Best Books of the Year
Romantic Comedy combines humour with poignancy and a lot of heart. - GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, Best romance books to read
Sittenfeld's novel continues her wider project of exploring the possibility for a kind of redemptive idealism within our flawed world - GUARDIAN
Sittenfeld has penned another exquisitely written novel - WOMAN MAGAZINE
A fizzy love letter to the prototypical romcom - NEW YORK TIMES, Editor's Choice
So much of Sittenfeld's work exists in the dissection and comprehension of female desire - NEW YORK TIMES
Flirting with the tropes of its namesake genre, this playful novel follows Sally, a writer on an "S.N.L."-like show called "Night Owls," who falls in love with one of its guest hosts. Their relationship develops via e-mail in the post-grocery-wiping, pre-vaccine days of covid-19. When Sally decides to visit her beloved in L.A., their time together in his Topanga mansion requires her to navigate incredulity, insecurity, and an offer that she feels is an "affront to my independence." The novel is preoccupied with the instinctual nature of self-sabotage, and with the fulfillment that can come from defying ingrained impulses - NEW YORKER
Insightful romcom sparkles with real wit and wisdom - SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
Whip smart and really funny - BUSINESS POST
Scores big on giving readers an insight into the machinations of a TV writers-room - CRACK
Full of dazzling banter and sizzling chemistry - PEOPLE MAGAZINE
If you ever wanted a backstage pass to Saturday Night Live, this book is for you - GOOD MORNING AMERICA
Excellent - MAIL ON SUNDAY
Both a brilliant portrait of the comedy world and a witty grown-up love story. Lives up to its name - IRISH TIMES
I loved this. I am obsessed by Eligible and it is a book I force on a lot of people because nobody does elegant, clever romance like Sittenfeld. Now I get to force Romantic Comedy on them too! Yay!
Sally Milz is a...
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A refreshing, funny, compulsively readable romance for people who want their love stories served with a large helping of vulnerability, emotional maturity and fart jokes.
This is the first book in a long time that...
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I loved Romantic Comedy, having not read the rest of her work yet (give me time) I've no comparison but this was a brilliant read. Highly recommend!
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