by Joan Silber
First published 2022
Vera grows up as the shy daughter of missionary parents, but she abandons her family to pursue love and anarchist activism in New York. Her choice ripples through generations. Her own daughter later struggles with doubt and divided loyalties, even within her marriage. Meanwhile, a Florida hotel owner's son commits adultery and steals from his family before fleeing to Paris, only to discover that others can outsmart him just as easily. These connected stories span from New York to India to Paris, touching movements from the Catholic Worker to Occupy Wall Street. Each character grapples with the same central question: when does devotion to a cause make you wise, and when does it make you a fool? The stories examine how our deepest beliefs shape us, the costs of our convictions, and the endless cycle where winners become losers and the clever get duped.
Genres: american-fiction, contemporary, activism, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, social-commentary
Setting: New York, India, Paris, Florida
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
257 pages · Kindle Edition · Allen & Unwin