Solstice

About this book

A brilliant but restless dancer discovers the true meaning of love and intimacy through the ebbs and flows of her marriage in this exquisitely written novel--from the bestselling author and psychologist whose feminist classic, In a Different Voice, revolutionized our understanding of women's lives. "[A] tender novel of intimacy and its risks."--The New Yorker (One of the Best Books of the Year So Far)"A literary tour de force . . . an irresistible read."--Daphne Merkin"A remarkable work by a remarkable writer."--Gish Jen"A deeply felt narrative of a couple's push-pull dynamic over decades."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) Boston, 1969. Eve, a dancer whose feelings are expressed through the body and movement, senses an inexplicable distance growing between herself and her husband, Gabe, a journalist and father of her two children. Feeling lost and alone, she begins an affair; Gabe detects it immediately and begins one himself. Yet somehow they find their way back to each other, and when Eve gives birth to a daughter, their marriage becomes vital again. Years later, when Gabe returns from a reporting trip to the Middle East and Berlin, Eve again perceives something is wrong in her marriage. He has always had a darkness she could not fathom--deep psychological scars from his childhood, when Gabe escaped Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport. Amsterdam, 1991. Newly separated from Gabe, Eve has accepted a fellowship to choreograph a dance inspired by the story of Adam and Eve. When a colleague introduces her to a new translation of the ancient text, Eve begins to redefine the way she thinks about women, men, and relationships--and, perhaps, to see another path back to her marriage. In this emotionally riveting novel, Carol Gilligan draws on her unsurpassed psychological understanding of women's lives to explore a new vision of love and intimacy. Sweeping across decades and continents, Solstice is a provocative and profound portrait of what it takes to truly love another.