Comic novels feel like an increasingly rare breed, with prizes being cancelled in recent years because the books weren’t funny enough, and subtly funny women like Sue Townsend have left a space in the comic canon that is often filled with the weird, whimsical and misogynistic, but not always the funny. Katherine Heiny is one of the few authors I’ve read recently that made me laugh out loud, Jonathan Coe and new YA author Kate Weston being another two.

This woman is flat-out hilarious. I’d describe her style as ‘dirty Anne Tyler,’ a modern, bawdier chronicler of family and small-town life, with the same sly look at human eccentricities. Early Morning Riser has something else in common with Tyler’s masterpiece, 'Saint Maybe.' In a moment of understandable selfishness, the heroine Jane causes a tragedy that means someone else is forever tied to her life. And that someone isn’t necessarily the love of her life, Duncan, who has slept with literally all the women in the surrounding area, but Jimmy, the adult son of a neighbour who Jane wasn’t all that close to before, who has learning difficulties - and a huge heart.

As in her previous novel Standard Deviation, several of the characters are on the autistic spectrum and even those who are apparently not neuro-diverse behave exactly as though they are. Heiny is particularly good at intractable characters, whether that’s two-year-old hellion Patrice, the plain-speaking seven-year-olds Jane teaches, or Gary, a middle-aged man with a string of irrational dislikes and a story behind each one. All these characters – including Duncan’s ex-wife Aggie, a woman whose cooking is as delicious as her passive-aggressive pronouncements are annoying – deviate from the standard, and this book is all the better for it. It was so good I went back and read everything else by Katherine Heiny!

This is a funny novel with some appealing, larger than life characters, most of whom manage to be irritating yet strangely loveable. I particularly liked the character of Jimmy and his relationship with the narrator, who unexpectedly becomes his surrogate family. Even the two young children had great personalities, and the author did a great job of bringing everyone to life.

Highly recommended for anyone who loves vibrant characters who lead the story themselves.

This was just a total joy to read, and exactly what I needed right now. Hugely compelling, it draws you in and carries you along with its atmosphere, warmth and wit. Wonderful characters, and a great balance between darkness and humour. My first book by the author, and I'll definitely be seeking out more.

An offbeat love story. Heiny has a wonderful way of bringing together oddball characters int strange situations. Here, a second grade teacher Jane falls for Duncan. Duncan is a woman's man and has slept with most of the women in town. Also, he maintains cordial relationships with most of them, including his ex-wife (he still mows her lawn).

- love how deeply Heiny goes into her characters
- loved how Duncan's arc developed. You really get to know him more and more and we read
- love the sentiments in the novel— the sense of community, gossips in small town, being unsure in relationships, the ordinariness of life
- i liked Jane's mother as a character and her weird phone calls and texts. You sigh as soon as she appears on page. She is unstoppable in being the typical 'mother' and sometimes you wish you could scream at her 'stop'
- i liked seeing the complexity of relationships, whether a rocky mother-daughter one or helping out a friend or how everyone in town gives out unsolicited opinions to Jane, making her anxious or worried at times.

- I wished the novel was shorter because some portions dragged. Perhaps a tight plot isn't what Heiny had in mind, rather a cosy, heartwarming story, but I longed for some tightness.

Warm, affectionate - and laugh out loud funny. Heiny has a sharp eye for both the absurd and the everyday and it's this combination that lifts this title for me. That, and its huge, huge, heart. Better yet, it's not simply well observed or funny - some of the writing is nothing short of glorious (that great eggy sunrise will stay with me for a long time). Beautiful.

This was a comforting, warming family saga that I needed to read. It’s just a lovely feel good story with some twists to keep you interested with a fabulously eccentric cast of characters. I spent a throughly fun afternoon reading this instead of working.

This was such a joy! Such a tonic for the moment! I loved every second of it, and most importantly I laughed. LIfe is just so serious at the moment, I needed something to take me away into the lighthearted and this definitely did. I've read Heiny's other works - Standard Deviation is just hilarious, I highly recommend that one too. If you want to escape into a story of love, families and everything that comes with it (ex-wives, mothers, you know the thing), something that's not too heavy, but is totally relatable and will get you giggling, then this is definitely for you.

My first read of the year is a @netgalley proof of Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny. This is a story about the peculiarities of small town life. Jane, the protagonist, moves to Boyne City as a young teacher and throws herself into small town life. One of the best things about this novel is that each character is as unique and bizarre as the next (reminding me a little bit of Gilmore Girls) and the dialogue between them all constantly made me laugh. There are some very touching moments throughout and a subplot based on a character with learning disabilities that really surprised me in a good way, he wasn’t used to make any other characters appear morally superior or any of the other cliches that can occur with that kind of storyline. There’s a lot of love in this book and a lot of life too. I was a fan of Standard Deviation, but I think I like this one even more!! Thank you to @4thestatebooks for approving the proof on NetGalley ❤️

I was already a huge fan of Katherine Heiny after Standard Deviation, so when I heard a new book was coming, I was beyond excited to dive in. I'm delighted to say it is a totally gorgeous read. Beautifully drawn characters, tender familial moments, and ripe with emotion, Early Morning Riser is a work of art. Thanks to 4th Estate and NetGalley for the ARC, would highly recommend.

I love books like this. In some ways, I fall into the trap of seeking books like ‘Early Morning Riser’ - the literary equivalent of comfort food, of wintry treats which one wants more and more of.

I digress. I am falling into the trap of enjoying writing about this book in extended metaphors. Heiny’s novel focuses on the town of Boyne City, in northern Michigan, and primarily the character of Jane, an elementary school teacher. She falls in love with local lothario Duncan - but being a commitment phobe, the relationship ends. Readers learn about the residents’ lives, all of which are portrayed in animated and original ways, from Jane’s mother Phyllis, to Jimmy, and Aggie - Duncan’s ex-wife. This is a laugh-out-loud book (sorry, it sounds cliché, but it’s true) but it’s not without pathos - largely when Jimmy’s mother is killed in a car accident, one partly caused by Jane’s mother Phyllis.

The novel is quite expansive in terms of the events and the time period it covers. In many ways, it’s life-affirming and leaves one pondering the prose, digging beneath the humour and everyday trivialities - it offers a lot more than this.

I loved ‘Early Morning Riser’ and one good thing about finishing it that I still have Heiny’s debut to enjoy. Thankfully, I had never got around to reading it so now I have the pleasure.

A lovely wry observational novel. All about the tiny details that make up a lifetime of memories and heartbreaks. It is so readable and funny.

The perfect antidote to a miserable year and non-Christmas season !
I was overjoyed to discover that this novel of small town life and family relationships is just as delightfully entertaining as Heiny’s first novel, ‘Standard Deviation’. Her genius at creating wacky, yet lovable characters is only matched by the great Anne Tyler - but Heiny is even wittier, with laughs and striking behavioural observations on every page. I could have highlighted most of the novel! Highly recommended.

Oh my goodness I loved this book. Like a pair of comfy sweatpants or a soft and well used quilt this book just oozed comfort and I read it in two short sittings. I haven’t read anything else by the author so I will now go and seek out her other novel. Heiny has a real gift for characterisation creating people who seem too odd or outlandish to be real but simultaneously reminding you of someone you know in real life who is just the same. I think I could have read another 100 pages on what Gary didn’t care for!
Jane was a great protagonist, totally relatable and seeing these characters of small town Michigan through her eyes gave us a deeper understanding of both them, and Jane.
I am both the daughter of a primary school teacher and the mother of one so the scenes in Jane’s working life were fabulous. The field trip to Sticks Farm was utterly hysterical and genuinely had me laughing out loud.
The novel makes sudden and quite surprising leaps forward in time and usually this would bother me but Heiny handles it confidently and decisively giving us enough clues in the first few paragraphs that we aren’t confused and instantly know where we are in time. I would have happily read another few hundred pages and had the life in those intervening years but I think the narrative is all the better for these jumps and giving us what Jane wants to tell us rather than it being a long, wandering play by play ‘tell all’ of their lives.
There is so much I loved in this novel and will miss now I’ve finished it; Taco Tuesdays where tacos aren’t served, Gary... just everything Gary! Jimmy and the obvious devotion of everyone in his life towards him, Jane’s second grade class and the exploits of her Hooters loving colleague, Aggie and her helpful way of pointing out everyone’s faults to them and the touching moments when both Aggie and Jane’s mother secretly reveal their big hearts and kindness. Jane’s mother reassuring Jimmy about holding babies is possibly one of the best scenes in any novel I’ve read this year, truly beautiful.

Im not sure I can find anything wrong with this novel at all. An easy 5 stars to award.

As soon as I saw Katherine Heiny has a new book out I had to get my hands on it, I loved Standard Deviation so much a few years ago. I have seen her writing described as being in the vein of Anne Tyler and Elizabeth Strout (and that is no bad company, I am a fan of both of them too) in its depiction of small-town America. There is that bitter-sweet quality to her characters and their lives, subtle but incisive observations of situations and relationships, but she is so much funnier. She is mistress of the deadpan one-liners. This latest novel differs from her first in that it is less laugh-out-loud funny and more poignant, especially where Jimmy is concerned. There is a small cast of characters and we get to know them well, following the action through the eyes of Jane, an absolute delight - I could read about her forever. Highly recommended.

I absolutely adore Katherine Heiny's writing and was so excited to read this after enjoying Standard Deviation and Single, Carefree, Mellow her book of short stories. Early Morning Riser tells the story of Jane who moves to Boyne City ,Michigan and falls in love with Duncan. Katherine makes you fall in love with her characters and I love her portrayal of small town America. I am reminded of Elinor Lipman and even Fannie Flagg when I read Heiny. Her writing is spare, warm, funny and completely captivating.
Highly recommended
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC

Ah, i loved the authors previous book, standard deviation, so much that I was overjoyed to see a new novel from her.
Early morning Riser is the story of Jane, a primary school teacher who has moved to a small US town where everyone knows everyone. And every woman in the town, or so it seems, has been involved with her new boyfriend, Duncan.
The story of Jane and Duncan’s relationship, of the relationship with Duncan’s Ex wife and her new husband, of Duncan’s work colleague Jimmy, of Janes teacher friends.
Funny, bittersweet, and very tenderly told. I liked this a lot. Easy to read and hard to put down. The ideal combination! Jane will be everyone’s new heroine.

A fabulous read a book that drew me in from the first pages.Characters that come alive a story of love a story that made me laugh a story that was emotional.Second book I’ve read by this author and five stars is not enough.#netgalley#4thestatebooks

Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny is about a young teacher in a small town and her relationships with her family and their group of friends.

This was a dramatic and engaging love story, posing uneasy questions about our boundaries and the choices we are willing to make in the name of love.