by Maria Espinosa (2009)
Extending the story of the troubled life of Rosa, a character first developed by the author in Longing, this novel describes her difficult relationship with her mother, Eleanor. Rosa's story unfolds as though in a parallel world: dogged by the same obsessions as her mother and resorting to sex and madness as elements of destruction. At the core of their tension is the illicit affair Eleanor has had with her daughter's husband, Antonio. Both Rosa and Eleanor find the defining focal point in the same man, whose gift for interpreting the longing of others means his own bitter destruction. Narrated in two voices from perspectives of both women, this novel describes both their lives in depth, covering a span of nearly 70 years during which the world around them undergoes enormous change.
Thomas Hardy
Hardy's two versions of a strange story set in the weird landscape of Portland. The central figure is a man obsessed both with the search for his ideal woman and with sculpting the perfect figure of Aphrodite.
Susan Fletcher
In an effort to gain more time alone with her mother, Aurora schemes to get rid of Tanja, a nineteen-year-old au pair from Germany.
Sanshein Odonel
A young girl at the center of the secret world of professional mourners, where women are trained extensively and paid handsomely to attend the funerals of strangers.
Barbara Savadge Horton
A mother explains to her daughter how she grew inside her as the seasons changed, bringing great happiness to Mama and Daddy both at her birth and now.