THE PORTRAIT OF A MIRROR

A stunning reinvention of the myth of Narcissus as a modern novel of manners, about two young, well-heeled couples whose parallel lives intertwine over the course of a summer, by a sharp new voice in fction.

Wes and Diana are the kind of privileged, well-educated, self-involved New Yorkers you may not want to like but cannot help sympathizing with. With his boyish good looks, blue-blood pedigree, and the recent tidy valuation of his tech startup, Wes would have made any woman weak in the knees - any woman, that is, except perhaps his wife. Brilliant to the point of cunning, Diana possesses her own arsenal of charms, handily deployed against Wes in their constant war of wills and rhetorical sparring.
Vivien and Dale live in Philadelphia, but with ties to the same prep schools and management consulting frms as their New York City counterparts, they're of the same ilk. With a wedding date on the horizon and a carefully curated life of coupledom, Vivien and Dale make a picture-perfect pair - at least on Instagram. But when Vivien becomes a visiting curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art just as Diana is starting a new consulting project in Philadelphia, the two couples' parallel lives cross and tangle together in the summer of 2015, threatening to undo both relationships in the creation of others.
In this wickedly fun debut, A. Natasha Joukovsky crafts an absorbing portrait of modern romance, rousing real sympathy for these fawed characters even as she skewers them. Shrewdly observed, whip-smart, and shot through with wit and good humor, The Portrait of a Mirror is a piercing exploration of narcissism, desire, self-delusion, and the great mythology of love.


Debut novel by an assured and exceptionally promising new stylist whose prose is as dazzling and elegant as it is cutting. A smart and entertaining read that will appeal to readers of Where'd You Go Bernadette, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's The Nest, and Sally Rooney's Normal People. Joukovsky has carefully interwoven art and mythology into a thoroughly modern novel for book-club readers. A perfect "summer read" as its spans one tumultuous summer, beginning with Memorial Day weekend and ending with a Labor Day party at The Met.

A. Natasha Joukovsky holds a BA in English from the University of Virginia and an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business. She spent fve years in the art world, working at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. After business school, she began a career in management consulting, joining Accenture Strategy in 2014. The Portrait of a Mirror is her debut novel. She lives in Washington, D.C.