Party Upstairs (Conell) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Conell, who won the Nelson Algren Literary Award for short fiction in 2016, ignites this suspenseful novel, taking place over a single day, with a passion, psychological insight, and a keen sensibility about class and economic difference
National Book Review


The Party Upstairs brings… Connell’s perceptive observation of how class and politics plays out in the real world, behind the metal chain securing an apartment door.
The Millions


Lee Conell has a keen eye for the grand delusions and small daily hypocrisies of a "classless" America…. [B]risk, canny fun—an upstairs-downstairs for the modern age.
Entertainment Weekly
 

(Starred review) Conell’s smashing debut creates a vivacious microcosm of life inside a tony Manhattan co-op building…. Conell’s talent for storytelling, wicked sense of humor, and compassion for her characters will leave readers eager for her next book.
Publishers Weekly


The Party Upstairs will make you laugh even as you grapple with how money defines many of its characters’ most significant choices.… [A]n on-the-nose, of-the-moment dark comedy that delves deep into issues of wealth, gender and privilege in the most iconic of American cities.
BookPage


Conell’s debut perfectly captures the… ways class informs every interaction, reaction, and relationship inside it.… [Her] writing remains cleareyed, darkly funny, and deeply empathetic. A slow-burning debut that keenly dissects privilege, power, and the devastation of unfulfilled expectations.
Kirkus Reviews