{"product_id":"if-you-left-paperback","title":"If You Left - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAshley Prentice Norton\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA seductive novel about a privileged but damaged Manhattan wife whose main source of stability -- her marriage -- comes under threat, from forces both without and within.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e For most of their marriage, Althea has fluctuated between extreme depressive and manic states -- what she calls \"the Tombs\" and \"the Visions\" -- and Oliver has been the steady hand that guided her to safety. This summer, Althea decides that she will be different from here on. She will be the loving, sexy wife Oliver wants, and the reliable, affectionate mother their nine year-old daughter Clem deserves. Her plan: to bring Clem to their Easthampton home once school is out -- with no \"summer girl\" to care for her this time -- and become \"normal.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut Oliver is distant and controlling, and his relationship with their interior decorator seems a bit too close; Clem has learned to be self-sufficient, and getting to know her now feels like very hard work for Althea. Into this scene enters the much younger, David Foster Wallace-reading house painter, who reaches something in Althea that has been long buried. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFearless, darkly funny, and compulsively readable, \u003ci\u003e If You Left\u003c\/i\u003e explores the complex dance that is the bipolar marriage, and the possibility that to move forward, we might have to destroy the very things we've worked hardest to build.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAll relationships have their ups and downs. For Althea and Oliver Willow, the ups and downs are a bit . . . extreme.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWelcome to the bipolar marriage.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e For most of their union, Althea has fluctuated between depressive and manic states what she calls the Tombs and the Visions and Oliver has been the steady hand. This summer, Althea decides that she will be different. She ll bring their nine-year-old daughter, Clem, to their Easthampton home once school is out with no summer girl to care for her this time and become the loving, sexy wife Oliver wants, and the reliable, affectionate mother Clem deserves. But Oliver is distant and controlling, and Clem has learned to be self-sufficient, and getting to know her now feels like very hard work. Into this scene enters the much younger, David Foster Wallace reading house painter, who reaches something in Althea that has been long buried.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Praise for the work of Ashley Prentice Norton\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Gripping, vivid, and moving. Isabel Gillies\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e A truly gifted new voice in fiction. Jill Kargman\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Darkly funny, compulsively readable. \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e ASHLEY PRENTICE NORTON is the author of the critically acclaimed debut novel \u003ci\u003eThe Chocolate Money, \u003c\/i\u003e and a graduate of Exeter, Georgetown, and the creative writing program at New York University. She lives in New York with her husband and three children.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eASHLEY PRENTICE NORTON is the author of the critically acclaimed debut novel \u003ci\u003eThe Chocolate Money, \u003c\/i\u003e and a graduate of Exeter, Georgetown, and the creative writing program at New York University. She lives in New York with her husband and three children.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.75 x 8 x 5.31 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 14, 2016\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42191045525639,"sku":"9780544263680","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/9fb4ebfd631b5ad2cc24e63e8a38d246.webp?v=1733908335","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/if-you-left-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}