Assommoir

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Marcel Proust

Ma mere, quand il fut question d'avoir pour la premiere fois M. de Norpois a diner, ayant exprime le regret que le Professeur Cottard fut en voyage et qu'elle-meme eut entierement cesse de frequenter Swann, car l'un et l'autre eussent sans doute interesse l'ancien Ambassadeur, mon pere repondit qu'un convive eminent, un savant illustre, comme Cottard, ne pouvait jamais mal faire dans un diner, mais que Swann, avec son ostentation, avec sa maniere de crier sur les toits ses moindres relations, etait un vulgaire esbrouffeur que le Marquis de Norpois eut sans doute trouve selon son expression, "puant".

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Jennifer Haigh

Sheila McGann is estranged from her complicated family. But when her older brother Art, pastor of a large suburban parish, finds himself at the center of a scandal, Sheila returns to Boston, ready to fight for him. Her strict mother lives in a state of angry denial; her younger brother Mike has already convicted his brother in his heart. But most disturbing of all is Art himself, who persistently dodges Sheila's questions and refuses to defend himself.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald

A psychiatrist, Dick Diver, treats and eventually marries a wealthy patient, Nicole. Eventually, this marriage destroys him.

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Belva Plain

New York Times bestselling author Belva Plain goes to the heart of what it means to be a woman, a wife, and a friend, in her powerful new novel--a story of love and betrayal that measures the limits of loyalty, friendship, and forgiveness.They met at school and have been inseparable ever since: Cecile, confident, elegant daughter of privilege; Norma, extraordinarily gifted and sadly troubled; and beautiful, ambitious Amanda, determined to rise above her humble southern beginnings. Two are married. One despairs of ever finding love. Three women. Leading their busy adult lives. Yet first and always: friends.Then something unexpected happens that forever alters their long, complicated friendship. A pivotal event, a shattering act of betrayal shifts the balance of power between husbands and wives, parents and children, sisters and brothers. And in the months that follow, each of them will look at their families, their lives--and one another--differently. And none of them will ever be the same.From the Paperback edition.