Innocents and Others

Innocents and Others is a novel about two American filmmakers, Meadow Mori and Carrie Wexler, who maintain a decades-long friendship while pursuing divergent creative paths. The story alternates between their careers in filmmaking and a mysterious phone seductress known as Nicole. Meadow crafts experimental documentaries and arthouse films that challenge viewers and earn critical acclaim. Her childhood friend Carrie takes a more commercial path in filmmaking, creating crowd-pleasing comedies that find mainstream success. Nicole reaches out to men in the entertainment industry through anonymous phone calls, forming intense emotional connections that blur the boundaries between intimacy and deception. Her story intersects with Meadow's artistic pursuits in unexpected ways. The novel explores themes of artistic integrity versus commercial success, the nature of truth in documentary filmmaking, and how technology mediates human connection. Through its parallel narratives, it examines the different ways people pursue authenticity in art and relationships.

Readers found this novel intellectually engaging but emotionally distant. Many appreciated Spiotta's exploration of female friendship, art-making, and technology's impact on human connection. Readers liked: - The unique structure and experimental style - Deep examination of filmmaking and creative processes - Complex character relationships - Phone seduction storyline - Commentary on truth vs fiction Readers disliked: - Challenging to follow multiple timelines and perspectives - Characters felt cold and unsympathetic - Plot meandered with limited resolution - Too much focus on technical film details - Writing style felt pretentious to some Review Scores: Goodreads: 3.5/5 (2,300+ ratings) Amazon: 3.7/5 (80+ reviews) LibraryThing: 3.6/5 (150+ ratings) Notable reader comments: "Brilliant but exhausting" - Goodreads reviewer "Like watching an art film - beautiful but frustrating" - Amazon reviewer "The phone scenes were compelling but the rest left me cold" - LibraryThing reviewer

Trust Exercise by Sarah Enright A novel about art, truth, and memory follows a group of drama students whose lives are transformed by their charismatic teacher and the consequences of their artistic pursuits.

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez A meditation on art, grief, and female friendship tells the story of a writing professor who inherits a Great Dane from her deceased mentor.

The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner Set in the 1970s New York art scene, this novel chronicles a young woman's journey through the world of motorcycles, art, and radical politics.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh A tale of self-imposed isolation follows a young woman's experiment with prescription drugs while she creates an art project through her withdrawal from society.

The Listeners by Jordan Tannahill The story interweaves multiple narratives about perception, truth, and connection through characters who become obsessed with a low-frequency hum only some can hear.

✦ The novel's premise was partly inspired by Miranda July's art project "Joanie 4 Jackie," which connected female filmmakers through video chainletters in the 1990s. ✦ Dana Spiotta spent over four years researching and writing "Innocents and Others," including extensive study of film history and analog recording techniques. ✦ The character Jelly, who seduces powerful men through mysterious phone calls, was loosely based on real-life phone phreaker Miranda Grosvenor from the 1970s. ✦ The book received the 2017 John Dos Passos Prize for Literature, an award celebrating American creative writing that experiments with form while exploring contemporary life. ✦ While writing her novels, Spiotta works in longhand on legal pads and deliberately avoids using a computer until the final drafting stages to maintain a more intimate connection with her work.