Chaucer’s Books Author Talk
Contact Details:
Phone: 805-682-6787
Email: events@chaucersbooks.com
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**Events may have been canceled or postponed. Please contact the venue to confirm the event.
Date & Time
Thu, Jul 29 6:00 PM - 7:00 AM
Address (map)
3321 State Street Santa Barbara, CA 93105
Author A. Natasha Joukovsky (PORTRAIT OF A MIRROR) will chat with Chaucer’s Books’ Greg Philson on Thursday, July 29 at 6 p.m.
For event information, please click here: https://www.chaucersbooks.com/event/chaucers-virtual-chat-natasha-joukovsky-portrait-mirror
To attend this virtual chat, please click here: https://zoom.us/j/94554206312
A stunning reinvention of the myth of Narcissus as a modern novel of manners, A. Natasha
Joukovsky’s exquisitely self-reflexive debut The Portrait of a Mirror (The Overlook Press)
Joukovsky’s exquisitely self-reflexive debut The Portrait of a Mirror (The Overlook Press)
tells, with blistering jest and verve, the story of two
young, well-heeled couples whose parallel lives intertwine over the course of a summer.
Wes and Diana are the kind of privileged, well-educated, self-involved New Yorkers you
may not want to like but cannot help sympathizing with. With his boyish good looks, blue
blood pedigree, and the recent tidy valuation of his tech startup, Wes would have made any
woman weak in the knees—any woman, that is, except perhaps his wife. Brilliant to the
point of cunning, Diana possesses her own arsenal of charms, handily deployed against
Wes in their constant war of wills and rhetorical sparring.
young, well-heeled couples whose parallel lives intertwine over the course of a summer.
Wes and Diana are the kind of privileged, well-educated, self-involved New Yorkers you
may not want to like but cannot help sympathizing with. With his boyish good looks, blue
blood pedigree, and the recent tidy valuation of his tech startup, Wes would have made any
woman weak in the knees—any woman, that is, except perhaps his wife. Brilliant to the
point of cunning, Diana possesses her own arsenal of charms, handily deployed against
Wes in their constant war of wills and rhetorical sparring.
Vivien and Dale live in Philadelphia, but with ties to the same prep schools and
management consulting firms as their New York City counterparts, they’re of the same ilk.
With a wedding date on the horizon and a carefully curated life of coupledom, Vivien and
Dale makes a picture-perfect pair—at least on Instagram. But when Vivien becomes a
management consulting firms as their New York City counterparts, they’re of the same ilk.
With a wedding date on the horizon and a carefully curated life of coupledom, Vivien and
Dale makes a picture-perfect pair—at least on Instagram. But when Vivien becomes a
visiting curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art just as Diana is starting a new
consulting project in Philadelphia, the two couples’ lives cross and tangle. It’s the summer
of 2015 and they’re all enraptured by one another and too engulfed in the desire to know what
they want—despite knowing just how to act.
consulting project in Philadelphia, the two couples’ lives cross and tangle. It’s the summer
of 2015 and they’re all enraptured by one another and too engulfed in the desire to know what
they want—despite knowing just how to act.
In this wickedly fun debut, A. Natasha Joukovsky crafts an absorbing portrait of modern
romance, rousing real sympathy for these flawed characters even as she skewers them.
Shrewdly observed, whip-smart, and shot through with wit and good humor, The Portrait
of a Mirror is a piercing exploration of narcissism, desire, self-delusion, and the great
the mythology of love.
romance, rousing real sympathy for these flawed characters even as she skewers them.
Shrewdly observed, whip-smart, and shot through with wit and good humor, The Portrait
of a Mirror is a piercing exploration of narcissism, desire, self-delusion, and the great
the mythology of love.
A. Natasha Joukovsky holds a BA in English from the University of Virginia
and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. She spent
five years in the art world, working at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York before pivoting into management
consulting. She lives in Washington, DC. The Portrait of a Mirror is her debut
novel.
and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. She spent
five years in the art world, working at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York before pivoting into management
consulting. She lives in Washington, DC. The Portrait of a Mirror is her debut
novel.