First published 2010
Melanie rents a country house expecting solitude, but her friend Rachel arrives for what should be a weekend visit and simply never leaves. Their old school friend Steve joins them, and the three settle into an extended period of inertia that stretches nearly a full year. They pass their days on the sofa, their conversations wandering from personal fears to workplace complaints to sexual encounters to philosophical questions about knowledge and reality. Their domestic slovenliness becomes a way of life as they avoid the outside world. Steve's girlfriend appears periodically, along with a self-righteous man Melanie met at a bar and a couple who disrupt their insular existence. The house becomes a refuge where time moves differently and ordinary responsibilities fade away. What begins as a temporary retreat becomes something deeper, a space where three people can examine their lives without the pressure to change them.
Genres: literary-fiction, domestic-fiction, contemporary, slice-of-life
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, slice-of-life
Setting: Country House
72 pages · Paperback · Concord Theatricals