Adelle Waldman was born in the state of Maryland, USA. She graduated from Brown University in Providence before moving on to Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She has worked for regional newspapers such as the »Cleveland Plain Dealer« and written book reviews and essays for »The New York Times Book Review«, »The Village Voice« und »Slate«, among others.
In 2013, her debut »The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.« was published. The novel was celebrated as the best book of 2013 by a host of publications, including »The New Yorker«, »The Economist«, »Cosmopolitan«, »Elle« and »The Guardian«. It’s the story of Nate Piven, a young writer. He works for trendy magazines, has his first book contract in the bag, and moves in Brooklyn’s hip cultural scene. He meets intelligent, self-confident Hannah and starts a relationship with her. It looks like a perfect match, but the more serious things get with Hannah, the more Nate is plagued by self-doubt. Is he really ready to commit? Is Hannah really the right woman for him? An excrutiating process of disintegration begins. With highly skillful powers of observation, Waldman uses Nathaniel P. to dissect the psyche of the modern man and his relationship to women, hitting a nerve with American readers, who quickly coined the meme »a Nathaniel P. type guy.« Social media was a part of the book’s success, with authors like Lena Dnham, Jay McInerney, and Gary Shteyngart taking to Twitter to promote it, along with glowing reviews in the press. A review in »The Boston Globe« said Waldman might possibly be her generation’s Jane Austen,by virtue of the »funny and at times painfully acute« way she »skewers their mating mores.« The German press was also enthusiastic about the author’s acuity and humor, with Spiegel online comparing her artful way of describing the psychodynamics of relationships to that of Jonathan Franzen. As Germany’s »Die Welt« newspaper put it, »The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.« is a comedy of manners in a world where there are no manners. In 2014 »New Year’s: Nathaniel P. as Seen Through the Eyes of His Friend Aurit« was published as an e-single. That book is written from the point of view of Nat’s best friend Aurit. The female protagonist also questions dating rituals and relationship – wondering in the end whether men and women really fit together at all.
Adelle Waldman is married and lives in Brooklyn. Her debut novel has already been translated into six languages, with more planned.