A Small Indiscretion fixes an unflinching eye on the power of desire and the danger of obsession as it unfolds the story of one woman's reckoning with a youthful mistake.
At nineteen, Annie Black trades a bleak future in her washed-out hometown for a London winter of drinking to oblivion and yearning for deliverance. Some two decades later, she is married to a good man and settled in San Francisco, with a son and two daughters and a successful career designing artistic interior lights. One June morning, a photograph arrives in her mailbox, igniting an old longing and setting off a chain of events that rock the foundations of her marriage and threaten to overturn her family's hard-won happiness.
The novel moves back and forth across time between San Francisco in the present and that distant winter in Europe. The two worlds converge and explode when the adult Annie returns to London seeking answers, her indiscretions come to light, and the phone rings with shocking news about her son. Now Annie must fight to save her family by piecing together the mystery of her past -- the fateful collision of liberation and abandon and sexual desire that drew an invisible map of her future.
A Small Indiscretion is a riveting debut novel about a woman's search for understanding and forgiveness, a taut exploration of a modern marriage, and of love -- the kind that destroys, and the kind that redeems.
- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Random House (January 20, 2015)
- ISBN: 9780812995442
Author Bio:
Jan Ellison is a graduate of Stanford University and San Francisco State University's MFA Program. She has published award-winning short fiction, and was the recipient of a 2007 O. Henry Prize for her first story to appear in print. Her work has also been shortlisted for The Best American Short Stories and the Pushcart Prize. She lives in Northern California with her husband and their four children. A Small Indiscretion is her first book.
Jan Ellison is a graduate of Stanford University and San Francisco State University's MFA Program. She has published award-winning short fiction, and was the recipient of a 2007 O. Henry Prize for her first story to appear in print. Her work has also been shortlisted for The Best American Short Stories and the Pushcart Prize. She lives in Northern California with her husband and their four children. A Small Indiscretion is her first book.
For more information please visit http://www.janellison.com and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter.
REVIEW:
Epic!
I can see why it was an Oprah's Book Club Editor's Pick. It's about family, love and the power of holding back. There were many twists and turns to get you to the end, but somehow, they all made sense.
The story was brilliantly written and told.
A mother writing to her child as a lengthy explanation of sorts. It was a unique way to read a story, as well as take it in. It pulled you in, almost like you had found the letter and were secretly reading it to yourself.
I loved this book! Even during the heartbreaking moments. I was still so incredibly immersed in the story that I had to keep reading for the resolve. Much like I would in real life, I suppose.
I'm so glad I was given the chance to read this authors' work. Her style has a uniqueness of its own. I'm sure this won't be the last I read of hers.
5/5
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This sounds like a great one! I'm intrigued by the idea of it being written as if the mother is writing to the child. Great review!
ReplyDeletethe premise sounds interesting
ReplyDeleteOprah's Book Club is usually right about books! I really like books that go back and forth in time in order to piece together a mystery. It sounds like an interesting format too!
ReplyDelete