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"Take What You Can is so brilliantly, unbelievably good I have a burning in my heart.... Love is utterly bewildering, and nobody writes about it better than Naima Coster."-Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich
From the New York Times bestselling author of What's Mine and Yours, a rich, panoramic exploration of female friendship, class, new motherhood, and independence
Val and Milly fell in love with France at the same time they fell in love with each other and became immediate best friends. Then, they bonded as the only Black students on a study-abroad trip. Now, they are in their thirties, each married and with a baby girl on the way. When Milly suggests Val move to New York to raise their daughters together after a decade apart, it's a resounding yes.
Despite their excitement, the pair secretly wonder if their friendship has always worked best as a trio. From that first trip to France, these two motherless daughters were taken under the wing of an older woman named Helene. She showered them with money, love and attention, and showed them the possibilities of a meaningful future. But without Helene, who are Milly and Val?
Milly, a successful influencer married to restaurant royalty, is occupied with her desire for independence. Val, a brilliant journalist, is struggling to write her first book and fit into her old friend's new world. The realities of class and social capital, of strained marriages and the demands of motherhood, serve as constant reminders of how far apart they've grown. And no matter how much they try to avoid it, everything comes back to the rift that began all those years ago in France. What they've long tried to bury may finally destroy their sisterhood.
Weaving between Brooklyn brownstones and the glittering beaches of southern France, Take What You Can is a dazzling novel exploring what it means to be a mother when you have none, a sister without blood ties, and a woman in pursuit of the life she wants. With her signature sharply-observed prose, Coster illustrates what it means to be-and to stay-someone's person through all phases of life. Advance Praise for Take What You Can:
"Take What You Can is so brilliantly, unbelievably good I have a burning in my heart from gulping it down too fast. It is somehow both taut and expansive-a literary feat I don't understand-and it's about the pleasure, grief, and devotion of daughters, mothers, lovers, wives. But mostly it's about the coming together and coming apart of a singular epic friendship between two women. Love is utterly bewildering, and nobody writes about it better than Naima Coster."-Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich and Wreck
"A magnificent book of emotional precision and startling insight, as awake to beauty and light as it is unafraid of the shadows, Take What You Can had me spellbound as I tore through it."-Megha Majumdar, National Book Award finalist for A Guardian and a Thief and bestselling uthor of A Burning
"Take What You Can bravely tackles so much of modern life.... Naima Coster's gripping third novel is about chosen family, exploring the complex dynamic-perhaps more intimate than those of spouses, or even parents and their children-between truly close friends."-Rumaan Alam, New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind and Entitlement Naima Coster is a New York Times bestselling author and a recipient of the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 honor. Her novel, What's Mine and Yours, was a Read with Jenna pick and named a best book of the year by Kirkus Reviews, Esquire, Marie Claire, and more. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Elle, Time, and The Cut. She earned her MFA at Columbia University and has taught writing for over a decade. Naima lives in Brooklyn.
From the New York Times bestselling author of What's Mine and Yours, a rich, panoramic exploration of female friendship, class, new motherhood, and independence
Val and Milly fell in love with France at the same time they fell in love with each other and became immediate best friends. Then, they bonded as the only Black students on a study-abroad trip. Now, they are in their thirties, each married and with a baby girl on the way. When Milly suggests Val move to New York to raise their daughters together after a decade apart, it's a resounding yes.
Despite their excitement, the pair secretly wonder if their friendship has always worked best as a trio. From that first trip to France, these two motherless daughters were taken under the wing of an older woman named Helene. She showered them with money, love and attention, and showed them the possibilities of a meaningful future. But without Helene, who are Milly and Val?
Milly, a successful influencer married to restaurant royalty, is occupied with her desire for independence. Val, a brilliant journalist, is struggling to write her first book and fit into her old friend's new world. The realities of class and social capital, of strained marriages and the demands of motherhood, serve as constant reminders of how far apart they've grown. And no matter how much they try to avoid it, everything comes back to the rift that began all those years ago in France. What they've long tried to bury may finally destroy their sisterhood.
Weaving between Brooklyn brownstones and the glittering beaches of southern France, Take What You Can is a dazzling novel exploring what it means to be a mother when you have none, a sister without blood ties, and a woman in pursuit of the life she wants. With her signature sharply-observed prose, Coster illustrates what it means to be-and to stay-someone's person through all phases of life. Advance Praise for Take What You Can:
"Take What You Can is so brilliantly, unbelievably good I have a burning in my heart from gulping it down too fast. It is somehow both taut and expansive-a literary feat I don't understand-and it's about the pleasure, grief, and devotion of daughters, mothers, lovers, wives. But mostly it's about the coming together and coming apart of a singular epic friendship between two women. Love is utterly bewildering, and nobody writes about it better than Naima Coster."-Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich and Wreck
"A magnificent book of emotional precision and startling insight, as awake to beauty and light as it is unafraid of the shadows, Take What You Can had me spellbound as I tore through it."-Megha Majumdar, National Book Award finalist for A Guardian and a Thief and bestselling uthor of A Burning
"Take What You Can bravely tackles so much of modern life.... Naima Coster's gripping third novel is about chosen family, exploring the complex dynamic-perhaps more intimate than those of spouses, or even parents and their children-between truly close friends."-Rumaan Alam, New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind and Entitlement Naima Coster is a New York Times bestselling author and a recipient of the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 honor. Her novel, What's Mine and Yours, was a Read with Jenna pick and named a best book of the year by Kirkus Reviews, Esquire, Marie Claire, and more. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Elle, Time, and The Cut. She earned her MFA at Columbia University and has taught writing for over a decade. Naima lives in Brooklyn.