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How often do you finish a novel, only to find yourself flipping back to the first page and thinking, I really ought to start that all over again? Alina Grabowski’s debut Women and Children First, a new and remarkable book (out this week) from SJP Lit, Sarah Jessica Parker’s imprint at Zando books, prompts that kind of reading.
Set in a struggling New England town, the novel unfolds through interlocking stories—something like Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge or Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. One of the local teenagers, a girl named Lucy, has died by falling from a roof during a party. Did she jump? Was she pushed? Did she suffer a seizure? The book is divided into “before” and “after” sections, and each chapter is narrated by a new character with their own perspective on the untimely death. You might assume that the stories help unravel the mystery bit by bit, but the effect is, in fact, the opposite: Each point of view only further complicates the realities of these characters. It’s a rich and textured book, with shades not only of those female authors, but also Mary Gaitskill or Lorrie Moore, through its investigation into female agency, power, and vulnerability.
Parker has always been an avid reader—to put it mildly. Last year, she described her lifelong habit of reading anywhere and everywhere, even when she’s on set between takes. “For many people, it’s a curiosity because it seems like it removes me from the work I’m doing,” she told Vanity Fair. “But actually, it keeps me focused because there’s so much chaos on a set. Sometimes I feel that it appears that I’m antisocial, but it’s just what maintains calm for me.” Still, it’s another matter entirely to be vetting books for an imprint that bears her name. I caught up with Parker (speaking from New York) and Grabowski (speaking from Austin) about what goes into choosing and publishing books in general, and this book in particular.
Vogue: Sarah Jessica, how did you pick this book? And how do you pick books generally?
Sarah Jessica Parker: I get a weekly update on available manuscripts from Zando, and sometimes there’s some cover letter—often just a letter from the agent and a brief synopsis of the book. I think in this case it was just that, without any coverage, and I was immediately intrigued. I can only read in hard copy, so I have to print everything out. I read it immediately and I thought, Well, there’s going to be a lot of people that are going to want to help shepherd this. I was just stunned by Alina’s ability to find a way in and stay interior, but also talk about these larger themes about connections and women and girls and the way they see themselves and the way others see them.