by John Barth
First published 1995
A writer in middle age prepares for a sea voyage that will test more than his nautical skills. His companion for this journey is the woman who fills three roles in his life: lover, closest friend, and spouse. The boat becomes their world as they navigate waters both literal and metaphorical. The writer must confront what it means to share such confined space with someone who knows him so completely. Their relationship faces the unique pressures that arise when two people have nowhere to retreat from each other. The ocean stretches endlessly around them, but the real voyage happens in the space between two people who have chosen to anchor their lives together. This is a story about the courage required to truly know another person and be known in return.
Genres: literary-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, found-family
Period: 20th-century
408 pages · Paperback · Back Bay Books