The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano
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by Donna Freitas
Publication date: April 6, 2021
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Hardcover: 384 Pages
Publisher Description
A deeply moving novel about a woman who thought she never wanted to be a mother–and the many ways that life can surprise us
In every woman there are many stories . . .
Rose Napolitano is fighting with her husband, Luke, about prenatal vitamins. She promised she’d take them, but didn’t. He promised before they got married that he’d never want children, but now he’s changed his mind. Their marriage has come to rest on this one question: Can Rose find it in herself to become a mother? Rose is a successful professor and academic. She’s never wanted to have a child. The fight ends, and with it their marriage.
But then, Rose has a fight with Luke about the vitamins–again. This time the fight goes slightly differently, and so does Rose’s future as she grapples with whether she can indeed give up the one thing she thought she knew about herself. Can she reimagine her life in a completely new way? That reimagining plays out again and again in each of Rose’s nine lives, just as it does for each of us as we grow into adulthood. What are the consequences of our biggest choices? How would life change if we let go of our preconceived ideas of ourselves and became someone completely new? Rose Napolitano’s experience of choosing and then choosing again shows us in an utterly compelling way what it means, literally, to reinvent a life and, sometimes, become a different kind of woman than we ever imagined.
A stunning novel about love, loss, betrayal, divorce, death, a woman’s career and her identity, The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano is about finding one’s way into a future that wasn’t the future one planned, and the ways that fate intercedes when we least expect it.
About the author
Donna Freitas is the author of Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention, as well as books for young adults. Donna has written for The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and has appeared on NPR and the TODAY show. The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano is her first adult fiction.
Read more about Donna ON HER WEBSITE
Praise
“Ambitious, compelling, and provocative, The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano delves deep into love, motherhood, and the complicated dance that is navigating the world as a woman—its intricate structure kept me turning pages and the questions posed therein kept me awake at night.”— Claire Lombardo, New York Times bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had
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“Freitas’s prose is engaging and precise, and her what-if format proves ideal for elegantly unpacking the tensions of the plot. She balances tightly written scenes of confrontation with Rose’s poignant reflections on how much she can compromise without losing herself completely. This isn’t one to miss.”—Publishers Weekly (starred)
“Reminiscent of Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life or the movie Sliding Doors, Freitas’s novel explores nine (but certainly not all) possible outcomes when a woman who has never wanted children marries a man who gradually decides he does….Following the maze of numbered takes becomes an addictive game, highly literate escapism, like watching The Queen’s Gambit….Highly readable and provocative.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“Fans of Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, Liane Moriarty’s What Alice Forgot, and the film Sliding Doors will find themselves happily lost in this charming, heartfelt, thought-provoking novel.”—Booklist (starred)
“A serious yet fantastical look at relationships, family, and feminism told in a unique voice, and book groups should take note. The closest read-alikes are Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and Replay by Ken Grimwood.”—Library Journal (starred)
“Many of us have had that moment where we wondered what might happen if we took a different path. Rose is adamant that she doesn’t want to be a mother, but then she caves to save her relationship. But what if she makes a different choice? In this inventive novel about love, loss, identity, and compromise, we get to find out.”—Woman’s Day