“[Zoe Heller] is an extraordinarily entertaining writer, and this novel showcases her copious gifts, including a scathing, Waugh-like wit.”—New York Times
Best-selling author Zoe Heller has followed up the critical and commercial success of What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal with another tour-de-force on the meaning of faith, belief, and trust: The Believers. Tragic and comic, witty and intense, The Believers is the story of a dysfunctional family forced by tragedy to confront their own personal demons. In the vein of Claire Messud and Zadie Smith, Zoe Heller has written that rare novel that tackles the big ideas without sacrificing page-turning readability.
Book Description
When a stroke fells radical
Critical Praise for The Believers
“[Heller] is an extraordinarily entertaining writer, and this novel showcases her copious gifts, including a scathing, Waugh-like wit; an unerring ear for the absurdities of contemporary speech; and a native-born Brit’s radar for class and status distinctions . . . combined with her hilarious evocation of the radical-chic world the Litvinoffs inhabit, her understanding of the Darwinian mathematics of familial politics . . . makes the reader look forward to her next foray into fiction.”
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“Each self-involved, status-conscious character in this marvelous, bighearted, gimlet-eyed novel is committed to this, or that, or the other worldview, and is rightfully deserving of skewering-and compassion. But then, aren’t we all, in our fumbling search for identity? The author of What Was She Thinking? Grants the Litvinoffs the dignity of wearing their political and religious (or antireligious) beliefs like sacred amulets. Or is it fashionable costume jewelry? A.”
— Lisa Schwartzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
“Literature that is not just enjoyable but also ultimately moving and affirmative. . . . Her satirical portrait of the Litvinoffs -- deracinated, secular Jewish leftists -- bears faint echoes of early Philip Roth. But compared with her first two novels, Heller’s scathing irony is tempered -- or enriched -- in The Believers by her daring, in an age of cynicism, to write about people desperate for something to believe in. Her characters arouse our sympathy as they struggle between rationalism and faith. . . .
— Heller McAlpin,
“Zoë Heller has written a tough, wise and funny book about a family that has to grow up all at once - and that includes the grown-ups. A sustaining, intelligent novel about how the big questions affect and change all our small lives.”
— Anne Enright, author of The Gathering, Winner of the 2007 Man Booker Prize
“This searing comic novel takes on hypocrisy of all kinds. . . . Heller’s talent lies in the way she illuminates her characters, often with dazzling insight, without making excuses or offering redemption.”
— The New Yorker
“A darkly buoyant book, full of life and irritation and humor and aching disappointment. It is, in other words, a book about a family, and a terrific one. . . . Heller’s ability to describe many things in one observation is almost acrobatic. . . . She comes at all her subjects from unexpected angles, with a quick, glancing touch, but even more than the deftness and surprise in her descriptions, it is this remarkable ability to look both in at and out from her characters simultaneously that makes her work so identifiable, so commanding, and , so often, so devastating. . . . Heller’s satire is surprisingly fresh. But perhaps most important of all, the sharpness of her mordant intelligence and wit is always shadowed by a strange beauty. . . . Just as Heller can brilliantly, thrillingly graph the tiny fluctuations of hurt feelings or triumph in a conversation about anything from wine to shoes, she tabulates the minuscule calibrations of the progress of Audrey’s grief. . . . There is something Dickensian in Audrey, an outrageousness that refuses to be left behind in a caricature that insists on her humanity. . . . Heller never allows us to lose sight of her as a human being, as someone struggling, making her way in the world, choice by choice.”
— Cathleen Schine, The
“A scathing social comedy. . . . Her dialogue never loses its keen bite and the story moves along with the unstoppable force of an express train.”
— Allison Lynn, People (3 ½ out of 4 stars)
“Heller’s sensitivity to the ways attitudes evolve and persist—her understanding that belief is a process—elevates the characters above their petty squabbles and textbook arguments, helping to explain their behavior while refusing to excuse it. . . . Moving and unsettling—and surprisingly entertaining.”
— Eryn Loeb, San Francisco Chronicle
“Profoundly satisfying. In her third novel, Zoë Heller injects that difficult-to-pinpoint something-or-other that elevates soap opera to art. The text is infused with intelligence; the story is firmly set within a larger social fabric whose texture feels authentic. THE BELIEVERS pulses with thematic and intellectual content -- a larger sense of purpose, something deep and lasting and larger than mere story.”
— Lionel Shriver, author of The Post-Birthday World
“Audrey is irresistible. . . . Heller’s description of [her] milieu is flawless. . . .Like so many of her thorny, fiery, real-life compatriots, Audrey is a relic, and soon she’ll cease to exist, except in books like The Believers. The world - or at least the
— Jennie Yabroff, Newsweek
“In The Believers Zoë Heller offers us The [Town] House of Litvinoff,
— Richard Price, author of Lush Life
“Heller gambles on her readers’ intelligence and wit, rather than baldly appealing to our feelings. The chilly social satire that Heller expertly executes in The Believers makes it a standout novel. She may not give us characters here to like, but Heller likes her readers enough to credit us with wider reasons for reading novels than just latching onto characters to identify with. . . . The most immensely satisfying stealth character in the novel . . . is Audrey. . . . Audrey’s relentlessly mean, if entertaining, attitude stirs up so many interesting questions in this acerbic novel of ideas. . . . By refusing to pander . . . The Believers also raises implicit questions about our readerly expectations about fiction. You may not make new imaginary friends by reading The Believers but, as consolation, this smart, caustic novel reminds readers that fictional friendship can be overrated.”
— Maureen Corrigan, NPR
“Heller…puts to pointed use her acute observations of human nature.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A moving, deeply intelligent look at intellectual loyalties—to ideology, religion, family—and the humans attached to them. This is a wonderful novel.”
— Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland
“A must-read for anyone who has ever secretly wished she could divorce her family.”
— Eileen Conlan, Marie Claire
“With her arcing wit and searing characters, Zoë Heller is quickly becoming one of the sharpest novelists in
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“Absorbing. . . . Funny and sad at the same time. . . . The Believers brims with clever dialogue. . . . A compelling tale of familial self-discovery.”
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“Within the rigorous, infuriating confines of our families, we’re all caught -- often forever -- in roles we would love to shed. . . . British novelist Zoë Heller understands this universal conundrum, and in The Believers she puts her perverse wit to work examining it. The result is a sharply satiric exploration. . . . The sanctimonious attitudes of true believers are a rich target, and Heller is merciless in dissecting hypocrisy and the ways in which rampaging egos gleefully trump idealism. . . . But Heller is not completely ambivalent about her characters’ fates; she generously allows them room to change.”
— Connie Ogle,
“Fantastic. . . . A richly detailed, deeply insightful peek into what happens to one family when the star of the show leaves the spotlight.”
— Amy Scribner, Bookpage
“Engrossing. . . . Heller writes with insight and honesty about the pain involved in testing one’s beliefs and the possibility of growth in the process. Recommended for all fiction collections.”
— Library Journal
“Few authors possess the gift for social observation that Zoë Heller has cultivated. . . . The epic story of one contemporary
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“Just as with Notes on a Scandal . . . Heller’s acuity is such that the characters become enmeshing. You wouldn’t want the Litvinoff family living next door, but neither do you want to close the book on them. . . . A perturbing novel, and meant to be so.”
— Sharryl Connelly, Daily News
“Zoë Heller is a witty, observant portraitist of misanthropes. . . . The Believers is consistently entertaining, deftly constructed to gain emotional and moral heft as it rounds out its characters. . . . [Heller] has expanded her tool-kit with this novel, extending her observations to a wider circle.”
— Sarah Kerr, BookForum
“Heller . . . manages melodrama like a master. . . . In the hands of a lesser writer, the unearthing of family secrets and subsequent ‘quest’ for ‘truth’ and ‘spirituality’ could be agonizingly sentimental. But Heller’s command of language signals that something deeper is always afoot. . . . In this story of morality, fidelity and the agonies of family, nothing feels anything less than three-dimensional.”
— Time Out
“My nominee for this year’s best work of literary fiction. . . . Her characters . . . rivet our attention with their wit, smarts and bad behavior.”
— Maureen Corrigan, NPR
“[The Believers] appeared in
— Very Short List
“The novel has a refreshing dryness, a tart economy with words that suits its subjects.”
— Moira Macdonald,
“An enormously entertaining sharply observed story.”
— The Millions
“I cringed and cackled my way through Zoë Heller’s The Believers in record time.”
— Simon Doonan, The Daily Beast
“Fiercely intelligent.”
— Michael Miller, Time Out
“Paints a family portrait so rich and full, it seems at times that the characters are living and breathing on the page.”
— Lisa Orkin Emmanuel, Associated Press
“This is part of Heller’s talent as a writer; though her characters are often loathsome, they are compelling, as are so many real people who may be deeply flawed but still worth examining. . . . We want to fight for the Litvinoffs -- and this is Heller’s genius -- because they are a real family. They are messy, and arrogant, and crazy-making. And also, one of the more accurate families I have read about in quite some time. . . . The Litvinoffs. . . . bring to mind Salinger’s Glass family. . . . And just as Salinger showed that in small moments of grace a family can be a wonderful thing, Heller allows her characters the redemption of final epiphanies.”
— Rachel Syme, The Daily Beast
“Even as Heller pillories the ideological rigidity so long a Litvinoff trademark, she sensitively-almost tenderly-probes family members’ turbulent lives and unfulfilling relationships. . . . Heller possesses an uncanny ability to penetrate the conflicted nature of individuals-especially women-undergoing an emotional or ideological transition. . . . The complexity of its protagonists carries The Believers. (In fact, in this novel, even the secondary characters shine…) . . . . Heller’s treatment of fraught and contradictory emotions, together with her unabashed exploration of intellectual musings, endows the story’s eponymous believers with an all-too-rare profundity.”
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“In the hands of a lesser writer, the unearthing of family secrets and subsequent ‘quest’ of ‘truth’ and ‘spirituality’ could be agonizingly sentimental. But Heller’s command of language signals that something deeper is always afoot. . . . In this story of morality, fidelity and the agonies of family, nothing feels anything less than three-dimensional.”
— Jonathan Messinger, Time Out Chicago (5 out of 6 stars)
“Heller’s incisiveness glints again. . . . The Believers is funny and harrowing at once.”
— Nancy Connors, Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Heller . . . . is an astute observer of human nature and completely unafraid to explore its deepest recesses. Her latest novel, a story about a modern
— Beatriz Terrazas,
“Heller has a way with characters. . . . And [she] never lets you see her sweat. Her fine prose appears effortless.”
— Mary Ambrose,
“The author of Notes on a Scandal presents another literary novel to sink your teeth into. Heller perfectly captures an idealistic dysfunctional
— OK! Magazine (5 out of 5 stars)
“Filled with razor-sharp prose and deft exegesis, it’s a witty and unflinching portrait of a severely dysfunctional family… The Litvinoffs are not, strictly speaking, sympathetic characters. But they are so fully realized, the reader still puts down this weighty tome wanting to know more about them. In Heller’s expert hands, in other words, even the despicable can be entertaining and endearing.”
— Boldtype
“Sharply etched. . . . In its concerns and its style, The Believers most closely resembles Zadie Smith’s ‘On Beauty,’ but it has a cooler heart. What makes the The Believers work is its precision and accuracy. . . . Audrey is the novel’s pièce de résistance, a monster of sorts, but splendidly alive all the same; everyone knows someone like her.”
— Laura Miller, salon.com
“A book about a family, and a terrific one. . . . Heller’s ability to describe many things in one observation is almost acrobatic. . . . She comes at all her subjects from unexpected angles, with a quick, glancing touch, but even more than the deftness and surprise in her descriptions, it is this remarkable ability to look both in at and out from her characters simultaneously that makes her work so identifiable, so commanding, and , so often, so devastating. . . . Heller’s satire is surprisingly fresh. But perhaps most important of all, the sharpness of her mordant intelligence and wit is always shadowed by a strange beauty.”
— Cathleen Schine, The
“It’s not every day that an author turns the tables of modernism and writes intelligently about a modern person ditching atheism for faith, but Heller pulls it off brilliantly.”
— John Grooms, Creative Loafing Charlotte
“The unpredictability of Zoë Heller’s clever social observations, her droll, sly humor and the vivid picture she paints of a family’s life and illusions give her new novel, The Believers, its charm and stamina. . . . A beautifully real and realized look at the everyday realities we face and the emotions we confront.”
— Natalie Fischer, San Diego Union-Tribune
“Characterized by Heller’s acerbic, sharply observant, direct style, the novel explores how the once politically assured self, now reeling under the shock of disillusionment and the ruptures of history . . . struggles for balance during a time of crisis, when faith falters. Heller’s achievement in The Believers is the invention of the Litvinoffs and their passionate belief in political and social causes. . . . Perhaps the most startling turn in Heller’s fluid, shifting series of snapshots of the family Litvinoff is
— Donald Weber, Jewish Daily Forward
“Heller . . . is well-respected, and for good reason. You have to love her smart and energetic prose.”
— Robin Vidimos,
“Her finest social satire yet.”
— The Week
“A violent but slyly humorous tale so stripped to its essentials that it reads like a graphic novel, only in this case the pictures are in the words, stark and defiantly efficient.”
— Anne Stephenson, The
“Heller’s writing is sharp and edgy. . . . In creating such a vivid, appallingly funny family, Heller . . . again proves herself a masterful chronicler of domestic drama.”
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“A novel to savor.”
— Kerry Fried, Newsday
“A lively, intelligent read. Heller’s prose is so sharp and often so funny that you hunger for each new sentence.”
— Tricia Snell,
“With her sophomore novel What Was She Thinking? Notes On A Scandal, Zoë Heller wound up shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and thrust into the spotlight of literary genius. All the qualities that led her so quickly to those heights-deft, economical characterization, a gift for empathizing with difficult people, and an effortless creativity with language-are in evidence in her latest novel, The Believers. . . . When moments of clarity and decision arrive, they’re hard-won and fleeting. . . . those moments feel like little miracles that turn reading into revelation.”
— Donna Bowman, A.V. Club
“Literature that is not just enjoyable but also ultimately moving and affirmative. . . . Her satirical portrait of the Litvinoffs -- deracinated, secular Jewish leftists -- bears faint echoes of early Philip Roth. But compared with her first two novels, Heller’s scathing irony is tempered—or enriched—in The Believers by her daring, in an age of cynicism, to write about people desperate for something to believe in. Her characters arouse our sympathy as they struggle between rationalism and faith. . . . At once a novel of ideas, manners and morals, The Believers is an energetic tragicomedy with the bite not just of cynicism, but also heartfelt feelings.”
— Heller McAlpin,
“Sharply etched. . . . In its concerns and its style, The Believers most closely resembles Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, but it has a cooler heart. What makes the The Believers work is its precision and accuracy.”
— Laura Miller, salon.com
“In her third novel, Zoë Heller has created a Jonathan Franzen-style family leavened with a little Anne Tyler. The result is a saga in turns delightful, thought-provoking and cringe-inducing, introducing us to maddening but impeccably drawn characters. . . . Heller . . . fills The Believers with observations so acute they are bound to elicit a feeling of familiarity from readers, far though they might be from rarefied
— Cynthia Dickison, Star Tribune (
“In structure and substance, The Believers has much in common with Jonathan Franzen’s 2001 bestseller The Corrections; both look at contemporary American through the eyes of one family, though Heller’s book gains something from having a more condensed scope…. More ambitious than her previous books, The Believers confirms Heller as a sophisticated writer who can engage with the serious questions of our time without overwhelming the human aspect of her drama.”
— Stephanie Merritt, Waterstone's Books Quarterly (
“One of the outstanding novels of the year. This is a big advance that took me by surprise…. It’s very funny and elegant…. It’s never predictable and it’s all totally believable. It shows that Zoe Heller has some pretty substantial abilities.”
— Peter Kemp, Sunday Times (
“Full of good things; seriousness about religion; skepticism about skeptics; a nice line in tolerant (and not so tolerant) irony; a neatly ambiguous ending in which Audrey’s personal myth may or may not (depending on your interpretation of her memorial address) be narrowly sustained.”
— D. J. Taylor, Literary Review (
“Cleverly reveals the vulnerability beneath the rhetoric.”
— Eithne Farry, Marie Claire (
“A classic family tale stuffed with secrets, struggles and sibling rivalries - all told with Heller’s keen eye for comedy where you least expect it…. Another dazzling take on relationships.”
— Elle (
“This is a novel rich in humour and packed with sparkling dialogue. Above all, it’s a funny, brilliant analysis of what makes families tick.”
— Viv Grosk, Sunday Express (
“Zoe Heller excels at looking at things from a skewed perspective…. In many ways, The Believers is an old-fashioned novel of ideas, dealing in a fairly systematic way with such areas of debate as idealism versus realism, charity versus political activism, and rationality versus religion…. Yet somehow it manages to do all this with a remarkably light touch, rocketing like a high-speed train along an array of interlocking plots…. Zoe Heller has wonderfully acute eyes and ears: time and time again, I found myself laughing at the accuracy of her dialogue, or at her merciless exposure of social pretension. Her narrative voice has a casual imperiousness, a bit like Lady Bracknell in jeans…. The Believers is funny, sharp, caustic, deft and ruthless.”
— Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday
“An observant and unsentimental family drama that pits rationalism against faith (in numerous guises) and thrashes out those doubts, disappointments and unpleasant truths that can leave a person jaded…. What could easily be a depressing, melodramatic and cloying treatise on spirituality and family values is thankfully rescued by Heller’s instinct for biting, no-nonsense tragicomedy.”
— Holly Kyte, Telegraph (
“Holding a careful balance between comedy, drama and pathos…The Believers is more mature and ambitious than her first two novels, viewing present-day moralities from a wide angle and creating a warm, funny and thoughtful fictional universe.”
— Lindsay Duguid, Sunday Times (
“More mature than Notes on a Scandal…. The Believers is at heart an American novel: a larger, more considered, layered and utterly assured study of a family driven by political passion whose personal lives refuse to comply with prescribed ideology.”
— Joanna Briscoe, The Guardian (
“Funny and moving and very, very true….A brilliant, brilliant book.”
— Liz Jones, Daily Mail (
“We are used to having this area of faith and doubt being contested by sparring essayists. Zoë Heller’s new book reminds us that fiction has always done it better. She, at least, encourages us to believe once again in the moral power of good imaginative writing; her people are more than the sum total of their opinions. Their unfolding lives remain uniquely mysterious and unpredictable, even to themselves. It is good to see her return to the novel in such an unexpected, moving way as this.”
— Mark Crees, Times Literary Supplement (
“Her prose is clean, sharp and driven by her talent for irony…. A compelling read.”
— Lianne Kolirin, Daily Express (
“Eye-smartingly funny.”
— Claire Allfree, Metro
“Brilliant and absorbing.”
— Michelle Davies, Grazia (
“Recalls Roth’s American Pastoral….funny, sad, rich in social observation and pertinent to these times.”
— Claire Kilroy, Irish Times
“A detailed and sympathetic portrait of a
— Lisa Mullen, Time Out
“A caustic and entertaining novel, peopled by brilliantly observed characters.”
— Cameron Woodhead, The Age (
“The Believers, is another leap forward in strength and depth, while the writing remains light, zestful and very particular for Heller. She is that rare thing in contemporary literature, an ironist…. How animated and sparky the book remains, for all its stirring, murky depths. And how apt the detail…. The ink of human kindness runs in Heller’s veins, in spite of, rather than because of, the honesty of her vision.”
— Fay Weldon, Financial Times
“A hugely pleasurable read, combining emotional honesty with satirical bite; Heller pokes fun at family dynamics and self-delusions even as she lays bare the emotional wastelands of loveless marriages and stifled ambitions.”
— Justine Jordan, The Guardian (
“A wonderful read…. And it will capture you from the opening prologue…. Don’t wait for the movie… treat yourself to this accomplished story.”
— Rowena Walsh, Irish Independent
“Takes an English school sex scandal involving salacious headlines and class consciousness and elevates it, with the aid of a self-deluding narrator and piercing observations, to a nuanced portrait of the power plays in unbalanced relationships. What Was She Thinking? shares many qualities with Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day.”
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“An intense, witty, literary page-turner.”
— Entertainment Weekly
“Equally adroit at satire and at psychological suspense, Heller charts the course of a predatory friendship and demonstrates the lengths to which some people go for human company.”
— The New Yorker
“Heller is a great ventriloquist of character, and...Barbara is painfully note-perfect.”
— Washington Post Book World
“A perfectly executed card trick of a novel.”
— Esquire
“The perfect ‘smart’ book for beach reading.”
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“What Was She Thinking? is not only very funny and original, but also demonstrates shrewdness, intelligence and nerve in tackling a difficult and tricky subject, and carrying it off.”
— Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“[A] clever novel of social commentary and dangerous obsession.”
— People magazine
“Witty, incisive.”
— The Onion
“More than a decade ago, Kazuo Ishiguro wowed readers with The Remains of the Day…In the same vein, Zoë Heller offers a riveting story of friendship, jealousy and betrayal, with a narrator as unreliable as Ishiguro’s famous butler…Although the book title ostensibly refers to Sheba, readers might ask themselves the same question of Barbara, as this psychologically rich, complex tale unfolds. In penning her wickedly wonderful second novel, Zoë Heller certainly had her head squarely on her shoulders.”
— Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers citation
“An intense, witty, literary page-turner.”
— Entertainment Weekly on What Was She Thinking?
“[A] clever novel of social commentary and dangerous obsession.”
— People magazine on What Was She Thinking?
“A perfectly executed card trick of a novel.”
— Esquire on What Was She Thinking?
“A moving, deeply intelligent look at intellectual loyalties-to ideology, religion, family-and the humans attached to them. This is a wonderful novel.”
— Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland
“A beautiful, oftentimes hilarious, razor-precise portrait of a family, a city, and an examination of the eternal and universal urge to embrace something, anything, greater than ourselves.”
— Richard Price, author of Lush Life
“Tough, wise and funny. . . . A sustaining, intelligent novel about how the big questions affect and change all our small lives.”
— Anne Enright, author of The Gathering
“Profoundly satisfying. . . . Heller injects that difficult-to-pinpoint something-or-other that elevates soap opera to art. . . . The Believers pulses with . . . something deep and lasting and larger than mere story.”
— Lionel Shriver, author of The Post-Birthday World
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