Bonnie Garmus Got Angry About A.I.—So She Wrote Another Zany Novel
The 'Lessons in Chemistry' author dishes on her new novel, 'Peck & Peck,' and the original New York stories that inspired it.
When you're looking to get lost in a book, sometimes you need your reading material to match your mood. With Marie Claire's series "Buy the Book," we do the heavy lifting for you. We're offering curated, highly specific recommendations for whatever you're looking for—whether you're in your feels or hooked on a subgenre trending on #BookTok.
In this author-curated rendition, Bonnie Garmus—the author of the bestselling hit Lessons in Chemistry—shares her favorite books set in N.Y.C.
Bonnie Garmus taught herself the ins and outs of chemistry to write what became her bestselling debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry. For her highly anticipated follow-up, the copywriter-turned-author researched something just as complex: Poetry.
“I thought [it] would be easy, but [it] was every bit as complicated as chemistry,” Garmus tells Marie Claire.
Falling down a rabbit hole about the literary art form helped craft Peck & Peck, a dizzying, delightful novel set in Manhattan publishing circa 1982. The book, which hit shelves on October 13, follows Batter Gray, a recent college graduate who lands a dream gig at the renowned (and very chaotic) poetry magazine Peck & Peck.
Throughout the novel, Batter encounters an eccentric cast of characters—including the competitive twins who serve as joint editors-in-chief—and his ambition is put to the test. But at its helm, Peck & Peck is an optimistic story about the preservation of art and originality. These themes have long stuck with Garmus, who published Lessons in Chemistry just before turning 65.
"I did hope to write a novel, but I also kept running into this one really annoying problem: doing it," Garmus reflects. "Most novelists write on the side; that was true for me too. But I was also working full-time as a copywriter, and after writing all day, I really didn’t feel like writing at night. But that’s how you do it—you write in the cracks in the day. Hope is just another word for persistence."
She explains that one hope that has been on her mind—and inspired her new release—is that creativity will continue to be valued in the age of AI. "Agents and editors aren’t looking for an AI voice—they’re looking for your voice. But AI buries your voice and makes you a plagiarist in the process. The strangest thing about it: you’re stealing from the very people you want to become. And worse, the world will never know what it was you had to say."
With that in mind, the author curated a list of her favorite one-of-a-kind books set in New York, from coming-of-age memoirs to other moving bestsellers about aspiring writers.
"Theo Decker loses his mother in a terrorist attack at the Metropolitan Museum in N.Y.C. and at the behest of an old man, takes her favorite painting, “The Goldfinch” from the rubble. A bildungsroman, the book is about the price of loyalty and the pain of unimaginable loss."
"A young man in N.Y.C. whose life takes a downward turn when his job as a fact-checker at an important magazine leaves him with an overriding sense of failure. But when his perfect wife leaves him, things get much worse. On a downward spiral of self-destruction, he must soon reckon with the superficiality of his choices."
"Where there’s wealth, there’s deceit, and in this book, the author cautions us that those we put our trust in, whether it be financial, emotional, or professional, may not themselves be trustworthy. A fascinating exploration of human power, desire, fragility, and capitalism."
"The young Stingo is fired from his boring job at a publishing company in Manhattan and moves to a boarding house in Brooklyn where meets and falls in love with Sophie, a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps. But she’s already involved with the charismatic Nathan, a brilliant cellular biologist who isn’t quite what he seems. A devastating book of love and loss in the most traumatic of circumstances."
"Patti Smith moves to N.Y.C. in the 1970s and meets Robert Mapplethorpe; true chemistry results. They eventually take up residence in the Chelsea Hotel and not only meet and learn from the most creative of minds but become standout artists themselves. One of the best explorations of what it takes to be an artist, these pages sing with rebellion, recklessness, love, and commitment."
"A Chinese family-owned restaurant in Brooklyn burns to the ground, killing one and displacing others. All fingers point at Mr. Wong, but it is a century of Wong family history that provides an extraordinary trail that weaves through the Black and Jewish neighborhood defined by accusation and misunderstanding. An amazing story of what living in harmony actually takes."
"Writers are drawn to N.Y.C. like no other city, and this insightful book of essays explores why. From the promise of potential to the excitement of chaos, they live the writer’s life with gusto. But eventually they must square the dream with the reality: excessive rent and never-ending noise. A great read."
