Late Night Talking

By Leslie Schnur

Book Overview

From the acclaimed author of The Dog Walker comes Late Night Talking, a tender and funny novel about bad behavior, the fragility of friendship and family, and how we cannot choose whom we love. Jeannie Sterling, host of a late-night NYC talk show, vents with her listeners about everyday injustices, from rude cell phone users and poor gym etiquette to bad drivers and negligent pet owners -- the many aggravations of modern urban life. An idealistic California girl raised by two free-spirited parents, Jeannie believes in a life of value through activism. She's passionate about making a difference, about making the world a better place, one annoying person at a time. For as long as she can remember, success in her career has been more than enough. But after all these years of being single, Jeannie realizes that some of the pieces of her perfect puzzle aren't fitting quite right. The people she thought she knew best all harbor secrets, secrets Jeannie isn't prepared for, secrets that can't be digested, processed, and solved in the neat three-hour window of her show. Her best friend, Luce, is growing distant and distracted; her wayward father unexpectedly moves in; and an ambiguous relationship with her college crush ignites. When the radio station is bought by the maverick mogul Nicholas Moss, Jeannie's career, her one safe haven, also descends into chaos. She is pushed to increase ratings and goes too far, risking the loss of everything and everyone important to her. Delightfully real and deliciously flawed, Jeannie Sterling is a character we can't help but root for as she faces her life's most hilarious -- and heartbreaking -- challenges.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743288254
• ISBN13: 9780743288255
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Outlandishly Fun!

I've never worked in radio or broadcasting... but hell if I wouldn't consider the career now! Even if it was midnight shift and on AM radio like Jeannie Sterling, the main character of this fun, fast paced novel that had my nightstand prime spot for about two evenings. But it isn't just my superficial fascination with all careers revolving around entertainment that kept my nose in this book. It is more the peek inside Jeannie's head. The emotions are real. The thoughts honest. And I just couldn't help but relate to Jeannie. It's like her conscious is another character in the book--which is just fabulous. The book covers everything from family relationships, death of a parent, childhood, love, work/career, and pet peeves (and let me tell you, this is the funniest part of the book). As outlandish and Jeannie appears on the outside, she's human. And that makes the book a definite read.

Smart, Funny, Original

In this hilarious novel, Schnur has created a truly original and loveable heroine in Jeannie. She's so human and frail and tough -- all at the same time. Any woman who has ever walked behind a litter bug, sat next to an obnoxious, loud person at a restaurant, or stood helplessly as someone cuts in line ahead of her will identify with Jeannie's crusade against all the boorish behavior in life. This book does what all wonderful novels do -- absorb us and amuse us and make us root passionately for the central character. This is as much a novel of manners as any Jane Austin novel. Schnur is a wonderful observer of life and frailty. It's a gift to be able to laugh at our shortcomings and this book is a wonderful way to spend a rainy weekend.

A Totally Enjoyable Read

A smart, funny, modern-day Rock Hudson/Doris Day romantic comedy with all the trimmings. The twists and turns and sophisticated banter keep the plot moving at an entertaining pace, and the outrage spewed by Jeannie Sterling, talk show host extraordinaire, will spark a familiar fire in all of us who are fed up with the outright rude behavior we're bombarded with on a daily basis.

fine contemporary romance over the air waves

Following her all night talk radio show Sterling Behavior, Jeannie Sterling enjoys walking home. Jeannie has two things she obsesses over; first to end rudeness especially in Manhattan and second to find a love forever. On her way home, a stud driving a Hummer almost hits her. She calls him a turkey even as he steps out of the vehicle. They have a confrontation before she scratches the Hummer. He thinks she is a kook, Jeannie rants about him on her radio show until she realizes he is zillionaire Nicholas Moss. Since he listens to her show as a fellow insomniac he realizes that this hostess calling him a pig is a righteous prig who considers herself the arbiter of right and wrong. She assumes he inherited wealth when instead his parents were East Village working stiffs. His goal is get even with Jennie by buying the radio station WBUZ. Thus as her seventy-five years old dad Lou arrives to stay in her apartment with his companion Mouse the dog and her beloved reporter friend Tommy Whitney returns from overseas, Moss buys the station. Soon a new format of Jeannie and her sidekick Luce working rudeness on the street leads to a TV show even as she begins to wonder what is right for her professionally and personally. The concept of talk radio comes across as a winner as Jeanie is an interesting humorous host whose tales are realistic and sadly amusing as we all have done some of the rudeness she rants against. The support cast is strong as each enables the audience to better understand the lead characters especially Jeannie. Although, as characters like Luce point out, Jeannie's incessant rants can become irritating, contemporary fans will enjoy this romance over the air waves. Harriet Klausner