As Lexi and Nell get older, the two young feminists discover that the constrictions of their bright, ambitious lives start to fall away and neither their friendship nor their ideals seem to work as well

Eight-year-old Esme Singer embarks on a ten-year search for inner truth, as she accepts--then rejects--the self-deluding role models of her alcoholic mother and an absent father who dreams of getting rich

En route to Istanbul to finish a film, filmmaker Kate Lurie and her new husband, Eli MacKenzie, find their journey hampered by the appearance of Lida, a stunning Russian with whom Eli had an affair fifteen years earlier.

On the verge of divorce, Sophy Chase is stunned by the sudden death of her almost ex-husband, Will, a death that hurtles her back into the orbit of Will's family, as she struggles to resolve her past and present, find out why Will died, and maintain a balance between her old life and her prospects for the future. By the author of Slow Dancing. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.

Offers writers advice on handling human sexuality in their fiction, tells how to write about specific situations, and shares examples of good writing

The author of Almost chronicles a particularly nasty divorce that pits a quintessential 'nice guy' against his ex-wife, a manipulative lawyer who will stop at nothing to conceal her own sordid past and destroy his credibility. Reprint.

Presents a shrewd novel about couple dynamics, the labyrinths of the psyche, and the collapse of marriage.

For Denis Johnson, it was Leonard Gardner's cult favorite Fat City; for Jonathan Safran Foer, it was a brief encounter with Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai; Mary Gordon's mentors were two Barnard professors, writers Elizabeth Hardwick and Janice Thaddeus, whose lessons could not have been more different. In Mentors, Muses & Monsters, edited and with a contribution by Elizabeth Benedict, author of the National Book Award finalist Slow Dancing, thirty of today's brightest literary lights turn their attention to the question of mentorship and influence, exploring the people, events, and books that have transformed their lives. The result is an astonishing collection of stirring, insightful, and sometimes funny personal essays. In her communications with contributors, Benedict noticed a longing to thank the people who had changed their lives, and to acknowledge them the best way a storyteller can, by revealing the intricacies of their connection. These writers look back to when something powerful happened to them at an unpredictable age, a moment when a role model saw potential in them, or when they came to understand they possessed literary talent themselves. As most of these encounters occurred when the writers were young -- unsure of who they were or what they could accomplish -- several pieces radiate a poignant tenderness, and almost all of them express enduring gratitude. When Joyce Carol Oates describes her public-rivalry-turned-wary-professional-acquaintanceship with Donald Barthelme, we are privy to the fascinating sight of one of today's most important writers being directly, personally affected by another influential writer. When Sigrid Nunez reveals what it was like to be Susan Sontag's protégé, we get a glimpse into the private life and working philosophy of a formidable public intellectual. And when Jane Smiley describes her first year at the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1974, she offers an intimate portrait of a literary milieu of enduring significance for American literature. Rich, thought-provoking, and often impassioned, these pieces illuminate not only the anxiety but the necessity of influence -- and also the treasures it yields. By revealing themselves as young men and women in search of direction and meaning, these artists explore the endlessly varied paths to creative awakening and literary acclaim.