In Imogen Crimp’s A Very Nice Girl: A Novel, Anna unexpectedly wins a place at the London Conservatory. Max, a man she meets in the bar where she sings, is everything she’s not: rich, tailored to precision, impossible to read. Soon, her infatuation with him starts to turn her away from her career – and she starts to lose sight of who she is and what she wants, completely. Joining to moderate is Julie Chan, creator and host of the podcast Beyond the Book With Julie.
Imogen Crimp on A Very Nice Girl: A Novel: Fiction
Imogen Crimp on A Very Nice Girl: A Novel: Fiction
Chan, Julie
From working as the CBS morning anchor in Oregon to hosting and producing her own one-hour morning show, University of Southern California alumna Julie Chan is a gifted journalist, thoughtful commentator, and a force to be reckoned with in the media world! Known for in-depth author interviews (such as with Andrew Morton and Joan Lunden) where she brings her subjects’ authentic stories to life, Chan began working with authors by inviting them into her home for interviews before live audiences and supporting their books with sales. Chan is a Southern California native raising three teenage daughters while inspiring others to follow their dreams at any age with The Julie Chan Show on YouTube. She and her author interviews can also be found on Instagram @thejuliechanshow. For information on how to have Chan interview, promote or host a book event for you, contact her at BeyondTheBookWithJulie@gmail.com.
Crimp, Imogen
Imogen Crimp studied English at Cambridge and earned an M.A. in contemporary literature from University College London, where she specialized in female modernist writers. After university, she briefly studied singing at a London conservatory. Anna, the central character in her debut A Very Nice Girl: A Novel (Henry Holt and Co.), doesn’t fit in. Not with her wealthy classmates at the London Conservatory where she unexpectedly wins a place after university, not with the family she left behind, and definitely not with Max, a man she meets in the bar where she sings for cash. He’s everything she’s not – rich, tailored to precision, impossible to read – and soon, Anna is hooked, desperate to hold his attention and determined to ignore the warning signs that this might be a toxic relationship. As Anna shuttles from grueling rehearsals to brutal auditions, she finds herself torn between two conflicting desires: the drive to nurture her fledgling singing career and the longing for human connection. But her infatuation with Max starts to turn her away from the former. The roles she’s playing – both on stage and off – begin to feel all-consuming, and she risks losing sight of herself completely.
