The Paper Palace (Reese's Book Club): A Novel
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE
THE PAPER PALACE IS:
“Filled with secrets, love, lies and a summer beach house. What more could you ask?”—Parade
“A deeply emotional love story…the unraveling of secrets, lies and a very complex love triangle.” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club July ’21 Pick)
"Nail-biting." —Town & Country
“A magnificent page-turner.” —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author
“[An] irresistible placement of a complicated family in a bewitching place.” —The New York Times
A story of summer, secrets, love, and lies: in the course of a singular day on Cape Cod, one woman must make a life-changing decision that has been brewing for decades.
“This house, this place, knows all my secrets.”
It is a perfect August morning, and Elle, a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three, awakens at “The Paper Palace”—the family summer place which she has visited every summer of her life. But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time, all while their spouses chatted away inside. Now, over the next twenty-four hours, Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event hadn’t forever changed the course of their lives. As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day, we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity. Tender yet devastating, The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity, the legacies of abuse, and the crimes and misdemeanors of families.
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
OVER 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE
THE PAPER PALACE IS:
“Filled with secrets, love, lies and a summer beach house. What more could you ask?”—Parade
“A deeply emotional love story…the unraveling of secrets, lies and a very complex love triangle.” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club July ’21 Pick)
"Nail-biting." —Town & Country
“A magnificent page-turner.” —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author
“[An] irresistible placement of a complicated family in a bewitching place.” —The New York Times
A story of summer, secrets, love, and lies: in the course of a singular day on Cape Cod, one woman must make a life-changing decision that has been brewing for decades.
“This house, this place, knows all my secrets.”
It is a perfect August morning, and Elle, a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three, awakens at “The Paper Palace”—the family summer place which she has visited every summer of her life. But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time, all while their spouses chatted away inside. Now, over the next twenty-four hours, Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event hadn’t forever changed the course of their lives. As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day, we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity. Tender yet devastating, The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity, the legacies of abuse, and the crimes and misdemeanors of families.
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Community Reviews
What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *The Paper Palace* offers beautifully written, immersive storytelling with rich sensory detail and emotionally complex characters facing d...
Omg I wanted to hate this book at the beginning because I didn’t care about east coast wasps and their summer home lol but the book drew me in and the storytelling was flawless.
The Paper Palace had been sitting on my TBR ever since this book came out and was hyped.
The story follows Elle, who is vacationing in Cape Cod at her grandfather’s family home called the Paper Palace, along with her family and long-time best friend. When she is met with an unexpected situation, she must choose between her long-awaited love or the life she has with her loving husband and three children.
The book is certainly beautifully written, but there wasn’t anything that wowed me much about it. I felt the author played it safe. However, it was a story that kept me hooked because I wanted to see how it would end and who Elle would ultimately choose. That curiosity was a good enough reason to keep me engaged.
The book was a slow burner, and some chapters dragged on. The dual timeline also got confusing at times, making it difficult to distinguish between past and present, especially since 80% of the book is written in flashbacks. Additionally, dividing the book into five parts with three parts named after the main characters seemed unnecessary, as the story continued in the same style and was told from Elle’s point of view. If the story had been told from multiple points of view, this division might have made more sense.
The characters were okay, not much to love or hate; they all had their own secrets, lies, and burdens to carry. The book is full of trigger warnings and explicit sex scenes that readers should watch out for when picking this one up.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read, especially if you’re not in a hurry and looking for a slow-burn, character-driven book.
The story follows Elle, who is vacationing in Cape Cod at her grandfather’s family home called the Paper Palace, along with her family and long-time best friend. When she is met with an unexpected situation, she must choose between her long-awaited love or the life she has with her loving husband and three children.
The book is certainly beautifully written, but there wasn’t anything that wowed me much about it. I felt the author played it safe. However, it was a story that kept me hooked because I wanted to see how it would end and who Elle would ultimately choose. That curiosity was a good enough reason to keep me engaged.
The book was a slow burner, and some chapters dragged on. The dual timeline also got confusing at times, making it difficult to distinguish between past and present, especially since 80% of the book is written in flashbacks. Additionally, dividing the book into five parts with three parts named after the main characters seemed unnecessary, as the story continued in the same style and was told from Elle’s point of view. If the story had been told from multiple points of view, this division might have made more sense.
The characters were okay, not much to love or hate; they all had their own secrets, lies, and burdens to carry. The book is full of trigger warnings and explicit sex scenes that readers should watch out for when picking this one up.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read, especially if you’re not in a hurry and looking for a slow-burn, character-driven book.
It was like a train wreck. I was disgusted and interested at the same time. I have a huge dislike for the main character, but the author did a great job with the story. I was able to finish this book within days. I had problems keeping the story straight in the beginning as the author skipped around way too much for my comfort. I found myself tracing back for dates and trying to understand the characters during which point of time.
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