I’ve known Ellen Meister for over a decade now and while many things in her life have changed over the years, there are some things about Ellen that will never change:

1) She loves her family and is a great mother

2) She loves her friends and is a great friend

3) She loves Dorothy Parker and always has

If you’ve read Ellen’s previous novels, then you know she is an incredibly talented and thoughtful writer. You know she is funny, sincere, and empathetic. Most of all, you know that she has a lot of heart. As such, my friends, you will find everything you’ve loved about Ellen’s previous books within her new one (humor, intrigue, family conflict, love, lust, anger, fear) but Ellen has upped the ante this time because she’s also included one more fascinating element… and that element is Dorothy Parker.

Whether you are a fan of Dorothy Parker or whether you have never heard of her before now, FAREWELL, DOROTHY PARKER will reach out and grab you and won’t let you go until you come to the end. At the heart of this novel is Violet Epps, an outwardly timid movie critic who uses her pen to speak the words she dare not say aloud. At the book’s opening, Violet has lost much in her life and is in danger of losing more (she is engaged in a custody battle over her niece).

It’s not until the spirit of Dorothy Parker enters her world that Violet begins to find her true voice, at first through channeling Dorothy Parker, but eventually by learning that the strength she has always sought so that she might express herself by speaking as well as writing, has always existed within her. And it is in using that voice that Violet is finally able to have everything she ever wanted, but didn’t dare to believe she deserved.

This book will make you laugh and cry by equal measures. Parker fans will marvel at Meister’s ability to capture so deftly the beloved author. Anyone who does not come to the book as a Parker fans will surely leave as one and leave as an Ellen Meister fan as well.

Read it.