" The Romantics is a smart, edgy novel that is wickedly insightful about class and privilege, amusingly cynical about love and friendship, and thoroughly entertaining throughout. Galt Niederhoffer is an elegant prose stylist and a shrewd social observer."—Tom Perrotta Laura and Lila were once as close as could be--college roommates at the center of a tight-knit group of friends. But the friendship has wilted a bit. Now, ten years after college, the friends--and the boyfriend they shared--have reunited for Lila’s wedding at her family’s seaside estate in Maine. Laura is reserved, single, and the only Jew in the group, while the bride, Lila, is a WASP-y moneyed golden girl, and the groom, Tom, a swim team star from a working class Catholic background, is a perfect paradox of confidence and confusion. As the wedding draws near and wine flows faster, the disappointments and desires of the reuniting friends come quickly to the surface. A drunken game on the estate’s dock goes awry when the revelers are pulled out to sea by the current. When they swim back to shore, they are short by one—the groom. The search throws the group’s shifting allegiances into relief and results in new betrayals as well as confessions. With Lila’s family’s picture-perfect Maine summer house as the backdrop, Laura not only sees her old friends in a new light, but reassesses herself as well—is she the only one of the group destined to be unmarried into her thirties? Was it always this obvious that she was the only Jew in a pride of WASPs? Struggling with the traditionally thankless role of maid of honor—not to mention contending with Lila’s formidable mother Augusta—Laura also realizes she can't stop thinking about her complicated, long and intense relationship with the groom. But isn't that relationship far in the past? A wry observer of cultural and social mores, Niederhoffer creates a pitch-perfect group of characters and a winning novel about friendship, class and love. Niederhoffer’s nuanced, piercing follow-up to her debut, A Taxonomy of Barnacles (2005), focuses on a group of college friends reuniting for a wedding. Now in their late twenties, all of the friends have paired off together save for Laura Rosen. The bride, Lila Hayes, is Laura’s former roommate and best friend, and the groom, Tom McDevon, is the ex-boyfriend she’s still very much in love with. As the weekend progresses, Niederhoffer gracefully unveils little details about the friends: Laura and Tom had an affair behind Lila’s back after college. Lila’s brother Chip is in love with Laura. Their other six friends are hiding various ambitions and attractions. When the friends, minus Lila who is prepping for her big day, set out on a late-night, drunken trip on a raft and end up losing Tom in a swim back to shore, they pair up and set off to look for him, which leads to some surprising revelations. An involving, tightly woven tale with fascinating characters. --Kristine Huntley "The fun comes from quick, withering observations... The Romantics ...illustrate[s] why well-wrought cynicism never goes out of style."-- The New York Times "Nuanced, piercing ...An involving, tightly woven tale with fascinating characters."-- Booklist "Niederhoffer weaves the characters together in an intense, crisp story line."-- Library Journal GALT NIEDERHOFFER is the author of The Romantics and A Taxonomy of Barnacles. She is also a film producer and a partner in the production company Plum Pictures, which was recently listed on Variety's "Indy Power List". Galt has produced over twenty films, seven of which have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. These films have won Best Director, Best Cinematographer, Best Screenwriter, and twice, the Audience Award. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family. Chapter One Laura sat in her car at the foot of a dirt road, clutching her cell phone and map. The map was just an accessory. She knew exactly where she was. The name of the house was etched on a wooden plank tacked to one of the elms that flanked the drive. A wreath of peonies hung just below, woven with white ribbons. Using her thumb as a ruler, she measured the distance between Dark Harbor and New York, as though time had stopped as a favor to her, to allow her to catch her breath. In fairness, Laura’s hostess was a girl who expected a lot of her guests. Beauty, wealth, impeccable lineage, and intelligence joined forces in Lila Hayes. At times, the combination was lethal. In college, when the two girls first became friends, Lila had been demanding—but back then she had been more endearing. The day before midterms freshman year, she hopped a plane for Guatemala, informing her roommate and parents of the trip only when she deplaned in Quezaltenango. She returned with a suitcase of indigenous textiles and new political beliefs. In April, she founded Yale’s Guatemalan Peace Corps. By May, she had the entire freshman class wearing sarongs. Soon after that, Laura and Lila renewed