Life Drawing : A Novel

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR “Taut, elegant . . . Black is a writer of great wisdom.”—Claire Messud, The Guardian (UK) Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Augusta Edelman—Gus to her friends—is a painter, a wife, and not always the best judge of her own choices—one of them bad enough that she and her husband, Owen, have fled their longtime city home and its reminders of troubling events. Now, three years into their secluded country life, Gus works daily on the marriage she nearly lost, discovers new inspiration for her art, and contemplates the mysteries of a childhood tragedy. But this quiet, healing rhythm is forever shattered one hot July day when a stranger moves into the abandoned house next door and crosses more boundaries than just those between their lands. A fierce, honest, and moving portrait of a woman grappling with her fate, Life Drawing is a debut novel as beautiful and unsparing as the human heart. Praise for Life Drawing “The page-turning suspense of Robin Black’s novel comes from her beautiful, honest portrait of a marriage, of a life. . . . A novel of consequence, and a stunning one.” —San Francisco Chronicle “Gripping . . . the power of this story is how it illuminates, in utterly compelling detail, the complex give-and-take of a couple trying to save their marriage.” — O: The Oprah Magazine “Truly brilliant . . . [Black] is that rare writer whose gift for prose is matched by her mastery of the other elements that make a great novel. . . . [Her] psychological prowess and incisive observations lend an edge even to seemingly straightforward scenes.” —Chicago Tribune “Races to its resolution . . . Black’s writing is clear and direct [with] observations about the way people relate that resonate well after the book is closed.” —The New York Times Book Review In Life Drawing , her gorgeously written first novel, Robin Black unfolds a fierce, honest, and moving portrait of a woman, and of a couple's life--the betrayals and intimacies, the needs and regrets, the secrets that sustain love and the ones that threaten to destroy it. Augusta and Owen have moved to the country, and live a quiet, and rather solitary life, Gus as a painter, Owen as a writer. They have left behind the city, and its associations to a troubled past, devoting their days to each other and their art. But beneath the surface of this tranquil existence lies the heavy truth of Gus's past betrayal, an affair that ended, but that quietly haunts Owen, Gus and their marriage. When Alison Hemmings, a beautiful British divorc?e, moves in next door, Gus, feeling lonely and isolated, finds herself drawn to Alison, and as their relationship deepens, the lives of the three neighbors become more and more tightly intertwined. With the arrival of Alison's daughter Nora, the emotions among them grow so intense that even the slightest misstep has the potential to do irrevocable harm to them all With lyrical precision and taut, suspenseful storytelling, Black steadily draws us deeper into a world filled with joys and darkness, love and sorrows, a world that becomes as real as our own. Life Drawing is a novel as beautiful and unsparing as the human heart. Praise for Life Drawing "The simple facts--Gus's relationship with Owen, her love affair with Bill--are, of course, not simple. [Robin] Black is a writer of great wisdom, and illuminates, without undue emphasis, the flickering complexity of individual histories. . . . The atmosphere of their love, of this house, is one of the most powerful aspects of Black's unsettling and compelling novel. . . . [Her] taut, elegant prose is both effective and affecting. . . . Life Drawing is at once quiet and memorable. This makes it far from fashionable, and all the more to be applauded. Its author pursues real and vital questions. Astringent and wise, Black is not afraid to discomfit her readers. This novel, like life, is uneasy: what a relief." --Claire Messud, The Guardian (UK) "Suffused with a remarkably sustained emotional intensity . . . Every intimate contour of the couple's relationship is mapped by Black with devastating accuracy. Full of insight into the fragility of marriage, this is a memorable read."-- The Sunday Times (London) "A gorgeously written portrait of the intimate workings of a long-term relationship." -- Good Housekeeping (UK) "Fine-tuned and exactly observed . . . With such well-rounded characters and a highwire level of suspense, the novel builds to a devastating resolution." -- The Daily Mail (UK) "Black's command of the story carries us swiftly through ever more dangerous rapids. . . . She captures the various pains and pleasures of love, and how betrayal distorts and damages, with superb subtlety." --BBC "A brutal yet tender look at marriage and creative partnership that hums with thriller-like tension . . . It might be the nearest thing to a perfect novel that I have ever read." -- The Bookseller (UK) "Black's characters are three-dimensional, and her depiction of their relationships, particularly between the two women, is masterly. An astute inquiry into relationships and betrayal, this novel is nerve-wracking yet irresistibly readable." -- Publishers Weekly From the Hardcover edition "Augusta and Owen are living a quiet country life of companionship and artistic creation--she a painter, he a writer--until Alison, a beautiful British woman, moves in to the previously unoccupied cottage next door. As Gus and Owen's life becomes intertwined with Alison's, past betrayals, losses, and new desires come to a head. A remarkably insightful, gorgeously written, unforgettable portrait of a marriage, of mature love, of desire, of regret, and forgiveness, this is a "a magnificent literary achievement" (Karen Russell) by a writer working at the top of her form"-- Provided by publisher. Augusta and Owen are living a quiet country life of companionship and artistic creation--she a painter, he a writer--until Alison, a beautiful British woman, moves in to the previously unoccupied cottage next door. As Gus and Owen's life becomes intertwined with Alison's, past betrayals, losses, and new desires come to a head-- Robin Black. Includes bibliographical references and index.