Shrewed: A Wry and Closely Observed Look at the Lives of Women and Girls - Softcover

ELIZABETH RENZETTI is a columnist for the Globe and Mail, and has reported for many years from Toronto, Los Angeles, and London. She is also the bestselling author of the novel Based on a True Story, which was a finalist for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize and a Canadian bestseller. She lives in Toronto with her husband, author and Globe and Mail columnist Doug Saunders, and their two children.

PRAISE FOR ELIZABETH RENZETTI AND BASED ON A TRUE STORY

Finalist, Kobo Emerging Writer Prize
Canadian Bestseller
A Winnipeg Free Press Top Read of 2014

"I'm a big Elizabeth Renzetti fan . . . This novel is a hell of a lot of fun . . . Made me laugh so hard I cried . . . Incisive, street-wise, and written with the deft hand of a truly talented scribe." -- Globe and Mail

"At the madly beating heart of Elizabeth Renzetti's debut novel Based on a True Story is a great female buddy movie . . . The novel is packed with absolutely fabulous lines . . . A seriously funny book." -- National Post

"Witty debut . . . wild, rollicking tale of celebrity culture, reinvention in mid-life, addiction, ambition, motherhood, and confronting past regrets." -- Zoomer

"A winner . . . By turns hilarious and dark, always riveting, and crammed with satirical observations . . . [Augusta and Frances's] antics remind you of those in the popular 1991 buddy movie Thelma and Louise, and Renzetti pulls them off with similar aplomb. In her weekly column, Renzetti uses her considerable wit and skill to make any topic engaging. She uses the same talents to make you care about Augusta and Frances -- despite their flaws -- and as a consequence her first novel succeeds admirably." -- Winnipeg Free Press

"A hilarious and bizarrely fascinating look at functioning drug addiction. I couldn't put it down." -- Geist

"Powered by quick-fire dialogue and flamboyant characters, Renzetti deftly renders disparate personality types who are lovable despite (or, in some cases, because of) their myriad failings . . . Renzetti succeeds in showcasing the unreliable nature of storytelling. In one tableau, Augusta quips to a beleaguered Frances, 'Darling, no one wants the facts of life. They want the story.' This idea is at the core of Renzetti's tale. Telling one's own story is a powerful gesture, and the author has managed to relay that notion in a fun, frolicking way, through the lens of an unlikely yet tender female friendship." -- Quill & Quire

"An unforgettable character that brings out a variety of emotions from the reader. Augusta Price is both infuriating and irresistible . . . Then there are unexpected moments when she makes you laugh. Before you know it, you're rooting for her, hoping she can get her life together." -- NewsTalk 1010, Bookends

"Based on a True Story is a wry and daring debut, serving up razor-sharp wit that cuts through the tangled webs (and cobwebs) of human desire, friendship, and motherhood. Fans of Hollywood -- old and new -- will embrace Elizabeth Renzetti's troubled heroine, with her dash of Norma Desmond. From page one it's obvious that this is a novelist who is ready for her literary close-up." -- Kim Izzo, author of The Jane Austen Marriage Manual

"Elizabeth Renzetti writes like an angel . . . I laughed my way through her transatlantic tour of the absurdities of television, publishing, and journalism, and I also connected with her all-too-human characters." -- Katherine Ashenburg, author of The Dirt on Clean and The Mourner's Dance