Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The End of Men
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: New York
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://www.harpercollins.com/cr-124983/karen-rinaldi * https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-rinaldi-058386a/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
| LC control no.: | no2017110438 |
|---|---|
| LCCN Permalink: | https://lccn.loc.gov/no2017110438 |
| HEADING: | Rinaldi, Karen |
| 000 | 00831nz a2200145n 450 |
| 001 | 10538105 |
| 005 | 20170824073514.0 |
| 008 | 170822n| azannaabn |n aaa c |
| 010 | __ |a no2017110438 |
| 035 | __ |a (OCoLC)oca10950329 |
| 040 | __ |a IlMpPL |b eng |e rda |c IlMpPL |
| 100 | 1_ |a Rinaldi, Karen |
| 372 | __ |a Publishers and publishing |a Authorship |2 lcsh |
| 374 | __ |a Editors |a Novelists |2 lcsh |
| 670 | __ |a Rinaldi, Karen. The end of men, 2017: |b title page (Karen Rinaldi) back cover (Karen Rinaldi is the publisher of Harper Wave, an imprint she founded in 2012, and a senior vice president at HarperCollins Publishers. While she has worked in the publishing industry for more than two decades as a publisher, editor, and content creator, this is her first time in the role of novelist. The end of men inspired the story for the 2016 film Maggie’s plan.) |
PERSONAL
Female.
EDUCATION:Attended University of Arizona; Ohio State University, B.A., 1983.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Publishing executive and writer. Random House/Crown, senior editor, 1994-99; Bloomsbury USA, managing director and publisher, 1999-2008; Rodale Books, general manager and publisher, 2008-11; HarperCollins, New York, NY, senior vice president, founder, and publisher of Harper Wave, 2012-.
WRITINGS
Contributor to the New York Times.
The End of Men was adapted for a 2016 film called Maggie’s Plan.
SIDELIGHTS
Karen Rinaldi is a writer and publishing executive based in New York City. For over twenty years, she has worked in the publishing industry in editorial and executive positions. Rinaldi is a senior vice president at HarperCollins Publishers and the founder of an imprint at that company called Harper Wave. She has written pieces that have appeared in publications, including the New York Times.
In 2017, Rinaldi released her first novel, The End of Men. The story was adapted for a film called Maggie’s Plan, which starred Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, and Julianne Moore. The book focuses on the lives and travails of a group of four female friends, who all live in New York City. The women are Isabel; her sister, Anna; Maggie; and Beth. Beth has a daughter with her ex-husband, who is now living as a gay man. Her daughter’s father has learned that he has HIV, and he also struggles with revealing his sexuality to members of his family. He believes that his mother, in particular, will not deal with the news well. Meanwhile, Beth’s business may be in jeopardy. Maggie is in a marriage with a man who has two children. She also has a child of her own. Maggie is becoming increasingly disgruntled with her relationship with her husband and begins considering divorce. However, through this process, she realizes that she would like to have another child with someone. Anna is a high-powered business executive at a lingerie company. Her many work responsibilities mean that she must sacrifice time spent with her two sons. Anna longs for a different work-life balance and even considers having more children. Isabel is married and pregnant. She wonders how having a child will change her relationship with her husband and what effect it will have on her career as an associate publisher of a magazine. Meanwhile, her hormones and libido are raging, and she finds herself drawn to a man from her past. Over the course of a year, the four women lean on one another, as they each deal with the problems in their lives. The title of the book comes from a headline that Maggie reads, referring to a scientific report that claims sperm is unnecessary for creating an embryo. Maggie amusedly remarks that men are no longer needed.
The End of Men received mixed reviews. A Kirkus Reviews critic remarked: “If you have a low tolerance for clunky, didactic dialogue, this is not the book for you.” The same critic noted that it “creates more sympathy for its male characters than its female ones.” A writer in Publishers Weekly called into question Rinaldi’s decision to “pack so many characters and story lines into one novel.” The writer concluded by describing the novel as “an entertaining and insightful concept that suffers from rough execution.”
In a more favorable assessment, a contributor to the 52 Weeks, 52 Books, 52 (Mostly) Women website commented: “Karen Rinaldi’s entertaining addition to the genre is the perfect accompaniment for your leisurely beach vacation. It’s a book you’ll race through thinking it’s a confection, but you’ll find yourself coming back to its themes again and again in your daily life.” The same contributor also discussed the women’s crises, stating: “Rinaldi examines these questions through the close-knit friendship of four women. And that need to lean on your girlfriends and try and decipher the world with the people who are facing the same challenges is what ultimately holds the book together.” “This is absolutely an author to look out for and a novel of friendship, family, and love to dive into,” asserted a reviewer on the Library Love Fest website. Stephanie Turza, critic in Booklist, remarked: “Rinaldi has crafted an incisive yet tender look at the high points and heartbreak of motherhood.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 1, 2017, Stephanie Turza, review of The End of Men, p. 56.
Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2017, review of The End of Men.
Publishers Weekly, April 17, 2017, review of The End of Men, p. 40.
ONLINE
52 Weeks, 52 Books, 52 (Mostly) Women, https://52weeks52books52women.com/ (June 22, 2017), review of The End of Men.
HarperCollins Website, https://www.harpercollins.com/ (January 5, 2018), author profile.
Karen Rinaldi LinkedIn Page, https://www.linkedin.com (January 23, 2018).
Library Love Fest, http://www.librarylovefest.com/ (August 10, 2017), review of The End of Men.
Biography
Karen Rinaldi is the publisher of Harper Wave, an imprint she founded in 2012, and a senior vice president at HarperCollins Publishers. While she has worked in the publishing industry for more than two decades as a publisher, editor, and content creator, this is her first time in the role of novelist. The End of Men inspired the story for the 2016 film Maggie’s Plan.
QUOTED: "Rinaldi has crafted an incisive yet tender look at the high points and heartbreak of motherhood."
The End of Men
Stephanie Turza
Booklist.
113.17 (May 1, 2017): p56. From Book Review Index Plus.
COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
The End of Men. By Karen Rinaldi. June 2017.352p. Harper, paper, $15.99 (97800625689911; e-book (9780062569011).
Isabel, Beth, Anna, and Maggie are four mothers trying to have it all. With high-profile jobs and demanding family lives, they often lean on one other as sounding boards set against the bustling backdrop of Manhattan. Isabel works at a glamorous magazine, Maggie is a freelancer, and Beth and Anna founded a maternity-lingerie store, Red Hot Mama. When the store's latest ad campaign goes viral and becomes the target of bad press, the women are spurred into action. Amid temptations, triumphs, and tragedies, the friends discover that their shared bonds are the source of untold strength. Fans of Allison Pearson's I Don't Know How She Does It (1992) and Elisabeth Egan's A Window Opens (2016) will enjoy this glimpse inside the lives of women struggling to do everything right. Rinaldi draws from her own experience as an accomplished publisher to imbue the novel with true-to-life drama, grounding each woman's story in gritty detail. By using modern media to ask age-old questions, Rinaldi has crafted an incisive yet tender look at the high points and heartbreak of motherhood.--Stephanie Turza
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Turza, Stephanie. "The End of Men." Booklist, 1 May 2017, p. 56. PowerSearch,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495035056/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=656a6c79. Accessed 24 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A495035056
QUOTED: "pack so many characters and story lines into one novel."
"an entertaining and insightful concept that suffers from rough execution."
1 of 3 12/24/17, 2:44 PM
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MA...
The End of Men
Publishers Weekly.
264.16 (Apr. 17, 2017): p40. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The End of Men
Karen Rinaldi. Harper Perennial, $15.99 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-06-256899-1
Isabel, Anna, Beth, and Maggie are women living in New York City, each at a pivotal crossroads. Isabel is pregnant and loves her husband, but still feels a deep pull towards an old friend. Anna is unhappy with her work-life balance, but can't figure out how to make time to be more present for her husband and two young children. Beth is dealing with the slow decline of her ex-husband and father of her child, who is fighting the AIDS virus, as well as mysterious threats against her business that specializes in lingerie for pregnant and nursing women. And Maggie is realizing that her partner, who left his first wife after an affair with Maggie, is not the man she wants. The four women support one another throughout this year of transition, eventually creating their own versions of balance and contentment. Rinaldi's debut is uneven, with some forced dialogue and excessive exposition that at times distracts from perceptive observations on modern motherhood and womanhood. Though each woman's situation is interesting on its own, the opportunity for exploring the nuances of the relationships is lost with Rinaldi attempting to pack so many characters and story lines into one novel. An entertaining and insightful concept that suffers from rough execution. Agent: Kim Witherspoon, Inkwell Management. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The End of Men." Publishers Weekly, 17 Apr. 2017, p. 40. PowerSearch,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A490820754/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=d944cd33. Accessed 24 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A490820754
QUOTED: "If you have a low tolerance for clunky, didactic dialogue, this is not the book for you."
"creates more sympathy for its male characters than its female ones."
2 of 3 12/24/17, 2:44 PM
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MA...
Rinaldi, Karen: THE END OF MEN
Kirkus Reviews.
(Apr. 1, 2017): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Rinaldi, Karen THE END OF MEN Harper Perennial/HarperCollins (Adult Fiction) $15.99 6, 20 ISBN: 978-0-06-256899-1
Four New York women juggle family and career, generally preferring the latter to the former."Did you see that article in the paper the other day? A scientist in Australia found a way to fertilize eggs without sperm....It's the end of men," reports Maggie, one of four gal pals at the center of Rinaldi's uninspired debut. Maggie, Beth, and Anna work for a company called Red Hot Mama, a manufacturer of controversial sexy lingerie for pregnant and nursing women, the ongoing target of angry demonstrations and threatening mail. Anna's sister, Isabel, is an associate publisher at a magazine called Pink. Barely pregnant, she learns that her boss thinks "we should hire women who are either too old to get pregnant or too ugly to get knocked up--haha!" When she calls Anna to report this, Anna tells her not to worry. "The feeling that the world will no longer value you because you are going to be a mother will disappear once you realize that you'll get better at your job because the bullshit will become meaningless and will roll off your back." If you have a low tolerance for clunky, didactic dialogue, this is not the book for you; dated- feeling feminist ideas take precedence over both character development and plot. Isabel's husband is out of town a lot so she cheats on him with an ex throughout her entire pregnancy. Anna is really angry because her husband doesn't help enough with the kids and she's pregnant again. Beth is raising a kid on her own as the HIV-positive father approaches his demise. Then there's Maggie, who, like the protagonist of the movie Maggie's Plan, has gotten sick of the man she stole from his first wife and is now plotting to give him back. According to the author's note, she had given up on this novel when she narrated part of its plotline to director Rebecca Miller, who made it into a movie. This is now considered a selling point of the book, printed on the cover and discussed in a foreword, though it's not clear why.Creates more sympathy for its male characters than its female ones.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Rinaldi, Karen: THE END OF MEN." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2017. PowerSearch,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A487668657/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=453fe0b9. Accessed 24 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A487668657
3 of 3 12/24/17, 2:44 PM
QUOTED: "This is absolutely an author to look out for and a novel of friendship, family, and love to dive into."
THE END OF MEN by Karen Rinaldi Is "Hilarious and Clever"
Y648
If you remember the movie 2016 movie Maggie's Plan starring Julianne Moore, Ethan Hawke, and Greta Gerwig, then you have to read the novel it's based on: Karen Rinaldi's The End of Men, a smart, insightful, incendiary read about four New York City women who push the boundaries of convention to live life according to their own rules. The New York Post calls it "hilarious and clever" in their Required Reading Roundup last month, and it has received even more stellar blurbs:
“Cool and hot, sweet and sharp, The End of Men is a beguiling modern tale of four self-made women who are doing it their way, and the men who’re along for the ride. I read it in one sitting, without checking my phone. A novel can’t possibly come more highly recommended than that.” —Karen Karbo, author of The Gospel According to Coco Chanel
“With humor, bravery, and panache, Karen Rinaldi puts her finger straight on the tender conundrum of the female experience, where work, love, and motherhood intersect.” —Rebecca Miller, director of Maggie's Plan
The author is quite a dynamo herself. Her Modern Love piece in the New York Times titled "What Is a Man For?" made waves back in 2016, and she just wrote another last week on modern motherhood.
This is absolutely an author to look out for and a novel of friendship, family, and love to dive into. If you're looking for one last novel for the summer, this is it.
-Amanda
QUOTED: "Karen Rinaldi’s entertaining addition to the genre is the perfect accompaniment for your leisurely beach vacation. It’s a book you’ll race through thinking it’s a confection, but you’ll find yourself coming back to its themes again and again in your daily life."
"Rinaldi examines these questions through the close-knit friendship of four women. And that need to lean on your girlfriends and try and decipher the world with the people who are facing the same challenges is what ultimately holds the book together."
The End of Men by Karen Rinaldi
contemporary fiction
What if humans were like seahorses? Stay with me here.
I came across some fascinating video of seahorses giving birth. Here’s where seahorses have flipped the script - the females deposit the eggs in the males and then a couple of weeks later, the MALE gives birth, to some two thousand baby seahorses!
What has that fact got to do with this book? Well nothing directly, but reading Karen Rinaldi’s The End of Men about a group of successful, entrepreneurial New York women who seem to be doing really well got me thinking about women and babies. By any objective measure these women’s lives are good, but they are full of angst, and motherhood seems to be the root cause of a lot of that angst. These women are grappling with the physical and emotional demands of pregnancy and motherhood. It’s something men never have to think about in the same way.
Isabel, associate publisher of a trendy magazine, is pregnant and grappling with an overactive libido and the profound change that the arrival of a child will bring to her life, her marriage and her sense of self; Isabel’s sister Annie, mother of two and the CFO of a flourishing lingerie company, is torn between her job and her home. What she wants more than anything is to be home with her boys – her husband and two sons and she wants more children; Maggie, mother of one and step-mother of two, has realized that she wants another child but doesn’t want her husband; Beth has a child with a father who is HIV positive but can’t tell his own mother he is gay. Beth is close to him but fully embraces her independence, her daughter needs a relationship with her father, but Beth is fine on her own.
The women of The End of Men are stereotypes of the kind of successful, accomplished white women featured regularly in popular culture from Sex and the City to Girls.They are women who are, for the most part, living a charmed life, but the intrusion of motherhood upends an awful lot of things. In that sense they represent a lot of women, not just the ones confined by the artisanal coffee shops, wellness centers and juice bars of Brooklyn.
What the book grapples with is that age old issue of “women having it all.” Just google the phrase and you’ll come up with a bajillion hits. It’s a myth of course, the idea that women can have it all – a fantastic career, kids, a great marriage, a balanced life. The truth is that you can’t have it all and certainly not all at once. And men in life, work, and society have an impact on the pursuit of it all.
The byproduct of this quest to “have it all” is that it provides great fodder for writers, essayists, commentators, film makers and novelists. Karen Rinaldi’s entertaining addition to the genre is the perfect accompaniment for your leisurely beach vacation. It’s a book you’ll race through thinking it’s a confection, but you’ll find yourself coming back to its themes again and again in your daily life: the partner who can’t handle the daily juggle and is “inefficient about the logistics of child-rearing; the society that has a long way to go before men are considered equal caregivers; the workplaces that see pregnancy and motherhood as a hinderance, (something unheard of for fatherhood); that “multi-tasking was a no-win bullshit scenario.”
Even the progressive women in these pages, three of whom work together in a woman owned company that they created, are struggling with the essential question of modern womanhood.
If a group of privileged white women haven’t figured it all out yet, then you know that the juggle is a “crisis” for the women beyond this demographic. So while you might not relate to these women, you can empathize with the sentiment.
Rinaldi examines these questions through the close-knit friendship of four women. And that need to lean on your girlfriends and try and decipher the world with the people who are facing the same challenges is what ultimately holds the book together. For as any woman who relies on her girlfriends knows, they are the ultimate resource in a society that seems to have forgotten that women are an integral part of our economic fabric, but are holding down the home fort too.
The men in the book are peripheral figures, a prop or plot device to set up the question, how much do I need a man in my life to be fulfilled, happy and, of course, to be a mother (apart from the obvious biological need)?
Now if men were giving birth, the way those seahorses are, maybe they'd be grappling with these very same issues instead!
BEFORE YOU READ:
Length: 326 pages
Genre: fiction
Themes: relationships, parenthood, friendships, work-life
Commitment: perfect to slip into your beach bag
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