Lila Raicek's Novel 'The Plunge' Reckons with Scandal and Desire

Lila Raicek, formerly known as Lila Feinberg, has published her debut novel 'The Plunge,' which loosely parallels her own experience as the ex-fiancée of disgraced Amazon Studios founder Roy Price. Price was accused of sexual harassment in October 2017, days after the Weinstein story broke, and Raicek called off their wedding scheduled for the following month. The novel follows protagonist Liv, who retreats to a garret on New York's Upper East Side after her fiancé's death, grappling with trauma, desire, and self-destruction. Raicek, a poet turned playwright and Hollywood screenwriter, changed her name after marrying clothing executive Douglas Raicek in 2024. She discusses the novel's evolution from titles inspired by Jules Olitski's 'Burn and Glitter' and Helen Frankenthaler's 'Slice of Red' to its final name, drawn from a Sylvia Plath diary entry. The book explores themes of power, desire, and the aftermath of public scandal, with Raicek emphasizing it is fiction, not memoir. A film adaptation starring Nicole Kidman is rumored. Raicek's play 'My Master Builder' had a sold-out West End run in London, and she has upcoming projects including a play about Edvard Munch's muse and a television adaptation of her graduate play 'Vertebrae' with Nina Dobrev attached.