Description

What does love demand of us, and who must pay the price?

‘Absorbing…haunting.’ Meg Woltizer, author of The Wife

High school sweethearts, Sarah and Warren, have grand plans for an adventurous future together, but when a misunderstanding causes them to part ways, they end up marrying other people.

When they meet again at sixty, their lives have been carved into very different shapes. Sarah lives outside New York; Warren lives in Boston. Sarah is divorced, Warren still married, and both have grown up children. When they reconnect, they feel the rekindled spark of love and desire – a spark that has been dead for so long. But are they willing to risk destroying all that they have built separately for the chance of a future together?

‘Classic… I’d read any story she has to tell.’ Amity Gage, New York Times

‘Smart, seductive.’ Daily Mail

Publisher Review

‘Compelling, heartstopping and all-too-believable, this is a marvelous read.’ Gish Jen, author of The Resisters ‘A searing interrogation of honor and passion. It dissects the hidden cost of the choices we make, and the consequences with which we must endeavor to live.’ Geraldine Brooks, author of Horse ‘Robinson brings her wit, her beautiful sentences and her compassionate clarity to this book about the price of love and the enduring need for it.’ Amy Bloom, author of White Houses ‘A remarkable novel-a quietly expansive story, in which elements of love and family coalesce and escalate into tragedy… A triumph of a book.’ Joan Silber, author of Improvement ‘Robinson’s smart, seductive writing style creates a sense of quiet menace that keeps the reader guessing until the book’s shattering conclusion.’ Daily Mail ‘Elegantly structured and written, shimmering with feeling and truth. A triumph.’ Kirkus Reviews ‘Robinson’s upcoming novel is an impassioned portrayal of desire and loyalty, of romantic love and family duty, and an exploration into what we owe to each other-and to ourselves.’ Oprah Daily ‘These characters have such depth and this is an intense and heartbreaking story.’ Prima ‘Examining responsibility and love, this is a beautifully written, honest account of the reality of experiencing deep passion late in life.’ Platinum ‘Stunning… A study of the complex joy and pain of late-life love, it is a tour de force…a wondrous feat.’ Joan Frank, Washington Post ‘Touching…fascinating… No one has ever written better about infidelity and the break-up of marriage… Robinson has captured all the sadness, poignancy, and resignation of loss. Anyone who has ever been left, has ever left someone, who has a daughter or perhaps even just a dog, will find in it an echo of their experience.’ Spectator ‘Robinson’s captivating story of love, regret and the choices we make – or don’t – is beautifully told, with two flawed and wonderfully drawn, nuanced characters at the heart of it.’ Julie Emery, Heat Magazine ‘The writing is beautiful; every sentence perfectly turned, and the settings are equally elegant.’ Daily Mail ‘This quietly compelling novel of forbidden love… Though its tone is muted, the book captures the aching pull of an all-consuming affair… Despite contemporary society’s general acceptance of divorce, the novel shows how desire can still have painful consequences.’ New Yorker