Imagine Me and You: A Novel [Hardcover]

Billy Mernit (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 8, 2008

After four years of marriage, Jordan believes that he and his beloved Italian wife, Isabella, have found their happy ending. True, he’s not exactly winning over Hollywood with his screenplays, and to make ends meet he’s had to take a job teaching writing, but he’s certain his big break is just around the corner. So when Isabella suddenly leaves him and returns to her native Rome, Jordan refuses to accept that their marriage is over. Raised on romantic comedies and fed a steady diet of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, Jordan has always believed that there is a simple formula for love–and it follows the rhythm of the classic romantic comedy.

Seizing on Isabella’s jealous nature, Jordan decides that in order to get her back, he must date another woman. But since he can’t imagine actually dating anyone else, he makes someone up. Her name is Naomi, and she’s based on a very attractive, very French former student of Jordan’s. To make their pretend relationship believable, Jordan “goes out” with Naomi in his imagination–providing her with dialogue, fleshing out her personality, even dressing her. All is going swimmingly–and the ruse seems to be working on Isabella–when Jordan realizes that Naomi has taken on a life of her own. She shows up everywhere, though only he can see her, and she seems to have a muselike agenda for the bewildered writer. Strangely, the phantom Naomi seems to provide the inspiration that Jordan’s screenwriting has been missing for so long.

But be careful what you wish for. Just when it looks as if Isabella may consider coming back, life with Naomi becomes even more bizarrely complicated, and soon Jordan is desperate to make her disappear. He’s learning the hard way that once Pandora’s box is opened, it’s a bitch to close.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Screenwriter and writing instructor Mernit gives a slight twist in this middling debut to the standard romantic farce. Jordan's wife has left him, but the screenwriter and screenwriting instructor isn't worried—he has a plan to get her back. If he plays on her jealousy, she'll be forced to return. He can't bring himself to have an affair with a real woman, so he makes one up, modeling his fictitious girlfriend after Naomi, one of his former students. Of course, not too long after his ruse begins, Naomi shows up—but Jordan is the only person who can see or hear her. As imaginary Naomi cryptically prods Jordan to find his true path, he becomes entangled in his deceptions, especially when both his estranged wife and the real Naomi arrive in L.A. Half an analysis of the clichés of the romantic comedy genre and half a thinly veiled criticism of Hollywood, the novel keeps readers at a distance, indulging in long sidetracks about screenwriting and romantic comedies in general. In the end, Mernit is more interested in subverting genre tropes than in creating a fully realized novel. (Apr.)
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Review

"Both utterly charming and vaguely psychotic, Billy Mernit's ode to the buoyancy of the human heart is a thoroughly entertaining ride."
—Theresa Rebeck, author of Three Girls and Their Brother

“A charming, thoughtful romantic comedy, one that both stays in the genre and deconstructs it at the same time. Billy Mernit has struck a nice balance between poking fun at Hollywood and having a genuine affection for it, creating in Jordan an engaging protagonist the reader can genuinely connect with. A delightful read.”
—Elizabeth Crane, author of When the Messenger Is Hot and All This Heavenly Glory

“Imagine Me and You is delightful. It got me to Florida and back on Southwest Airlines, third in importance only to the airplane itself and, of course, the Bernoulli Effect. The yummy snack was a distant fourth. I highly recommend it.”
—Danny Rubin, writer of Groundhog Day

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1 edition (April 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307395375
• ISBN-13: 978-0307395375
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,212,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BILLY MERNIT wrote his first book at age five (a 33-page illustrated fable entitled "The Wee Little Cat," available in one extremely limited edition).

In his late teens he began his writing career as a composer-lyricist whose songs were recorded by Carly Simon and Judy Collins, among others. During his many years in the entertainment industry, he's written for television (NBC's legendary "Santa Barbara") and worked as both screenwriter and script consultant.

Known as 'the guru of rom-com' for his best-selling screenwriting textbook, "Writing the Romantic Comedy" (Harper/Collins) and his popular blog Living the Romantic Comedy, Billy teaches at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, and is a frequent guest speaker at writing conferences around the country.

"Imagine Me and You: A Novel" (Random House/ Shaye Areheart Books) is his first published work of literary/mainstream fiction.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What Dreams Do We Make Up?, April 16, 2008

By 

Linda J. Sexauer "alaskabookworm" (Anchorage, Alaska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Imagine Me and You: A Novel (Hardcover)

Billy Mernit's successfully leverages his career as a romantic comedy writer and teacher in his first novel, the engaging and funny "Imagine Me and You".

The novel's protagonist, Jordan Moore, is a struggling "rom-com" (romantic comedy) screen writer in Los Angeles whose script is being courted by a very "now" filmmaker. This should be a good thing, but Jordan's marriage to his adored Italian wife, Isabella, is in grave danger. Because of his wife's departure back to Italy, Jordan finds himself blocked in his ability to work on his script, thus endangering his movie deal as well. He is a man both cornered and desperate, about to lose everything that matters to him. What transpires is magical and unexpected: an imaginary mistress who becomes real, changing Jordan's life in unimaginable ways.

Throughout "Imagine Me and You", Mernit also leverages the typical rom-com storyline. In a satisfying hodge-podge of the expected plot rom-com twists and turns, Mernit makes sure that his romance-writing protagonist notices his own life plotting the course of a typical romantic comedy, making fun of both the genre and himself. The story reads as cleanly as if it were a movie. This book was fun to read, much like watching a movie in my head; I found myself utterly losing track of time.

Jordan's journey of self-actualization was particularly engaging to me. The process of more deeply understanding one's individuality is often painful and tedious. Middle age seems to be the common time to seek answers to "deeper" questions about identity and purpose. In journeying with Jordan, I found myself wondering if I am living a life true to myself. Mernit balances both levity with profundity, but not so much of either that the story loses its momentum.

All that said, the main characters were a little flat and not especially sympathetic (his minor characters flesh out more strongly), but the dialogue is good: witty and smart and real.

My only real criticism of this book is this: when the story begins, Jordan's wife has only been gone two weeks. Most of the story's tension is built around this agonizing two week separation. Truthfully, this just falls flat with me. Two weeks is way too short a period of time to convince me of the extent of desperation that Jordan feels. If the story had started with Isabella already having been gone two months, all the other resulting action and emotion would be more proportionate.

Given the breezy, warm, southern Californian setting of this novel, "Imagine Me and You" may just be the perfect summer read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Romantic Comedy with a Twist, September 14, 2008

By 

Blake Fraina (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Imagine Me and You: A Novel (Hardcover)

Romantic comedy films tend to stick to a pretty strict formula. And Billy Mernit's infectiously fun novel, "Imagine Me & You" lays out the components of that formula in the chapter titles: Setup, Cute Meet, Complication, Hook, Swivel, Dark Moment and Resolution. And Mernit follows the formula down to the letter. Well, almost.

In recent years, Hollywood and indie filmmakers have been putting out films that follow the romantic comedy formula up to a point before veering off into unexpected territory at the very end. Rather than the typical Happily Ever After (HEA, to you romance fans), characters in films like "Waitress" or "Coffee Date" find their own brand of happiness by finding themselves, rather than finding love. For the ultimate subversion of the formula, one need look no further than Don Roos's satiric "Happy Endings," where each of the [multitude of] characters goes through all the motions of the genre with one person and then, at the eleventh hour, each one ends up with someone else entirely. So while there is HEA aplenty, it just comes in unexpected ways. Mernit, a screenwriter and professor of screenwriting, presents a literary version of the modern romantic comedy with a twist.

Jordan Moore, the protagonist (who, as a "teacher-sometimes-writer," shares the author's vocation) is suddenly abandoned by his beloved wife Isabella, who returns to her native Italy to spend time with her family and get some perspective on their marriage. In an effort to make her jealous, he tells Isabella he's seeing Naomi, a fictional French dreamgirl he's modelled after one of his former students. But, in short order, his imaginary mistress begins appearing to him, serving as equal parts companion, critic, advisor and muse. Despite the fact that he knows she's merely a figment of his imagination, he can't seem to shake her, nor does he think he wants to, that is until the real Naomi re-enters his life and Isabella announces her impending return to Los Angeles. I won't reveal the ending, but suffice it to say, it's probably not what one might expect from a typical romantic comedy. And if you have only one idea of what constitutes an HEA, you might be in for a disappointment.

This novel was a great pleasure to read. The writing flows easily and feels very cinematic. It's not surprising that Mernit's first calling is writing scripts. Not only is the dialogue fantastic, but all the characterizations are specific and detailed. I actually found myself picturing very particular actors in each of the roles. For example, Rachel MacAdams or Elizabeth Banks would be perfect as the spunky, sassy Naomi. And I could actually hear Ian McKellan's booming bass in the voice of Jordan's ailing friend and confidant, Leo.

It's almost unfortunate that the title has already been taken by another film, because I'd look forward to seeing "Imagine Me & You" on the marquee at my local Cineplex - if Hollywood ever saw fit to make it into a movie. In the meantime, it's highly recommended reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Afterglow of a good read, May 10, 2008

By 

J. K. Osborne (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Imagine Me and You: A Novel (Kindle Edition)

I haven't read a romance for a while, having been put off by the standard formula that seems ever present in this genre, I seemed to be perpetually left with a nasty aftertaste having read them. It's difficult when you are a classic romantic at heart - hungry for a really good love story yarn but find that you end up eating the McDonalds of Romance rather than a classic home cooked meal, which is why it was a lovely surprise when I read Imagine You and Me. Intelligent prose. Beautiful descriptions. Absorbing depiction of LA. Entertaining and likeable characters; both real and imaginary (I love "My Naomi"). A plot that keeps you guess until the end. And best of all a novel that leaves both smiling and with a refeshed perspective on love. More than a home cooked meal. A night out at a 5 star restaurant. Great stuff!