From the internationally renowned author of "In a Different Voice, " a remarkable debut novel: a love story that introduces an unforgettable character in modern fiction, Kyra, and a superb new fiction writer, Carol Gilligan. Kyra is an architect designing a new city, a woman of humor and courage living in a vibrant world of family, friends, and colleagues and determined to break out of old structures. When she meets Andreas, a director staging an innovative production of Tosca, neither wants to fall in love-and yet, inevitably, they do. Their story takes us from Cambridge and an island off the coast of Massachusetts to Vienna, Thailand, Cyprus, and Wales as Kyra seeks the deepest truths about herself, other people, loyalty, and love. This reaching leads her to commit singular acts that startle and shock, inspiring new freedom for others as well as for Kyra herself. Rich with Carol Gilligan's signature gifts-emotional wisdom, subtle renderings of the intricacies of human relationship, conflict and choice, and lyrical prose-Kyra is a luminous, magnificent novel by a writer realizing the range of her powers.
Industry Reviews
"A sensuous first novel exploring the permeable boundaries of women's inner and outer worlds."-O: The Oprah Magazine
"A rare thing: an engrossing, deeply emotional, thinking person's love story."-San Francisco Chronicle
"Both a thought-provoking polemic and a love story." -New York Times Book Review
"An enthralling novel, tender, scary, and compelling. It crackles with a fierce intelligence and keeps the reader mesmerized throughout."-Maggie Scarf
"Ambitious . . . full of lyrical passages."-Los Angeles Times
"The pleasures of this novel are many indeed. . . . Readers will find themselves haunted by [Kyra's] clear call to push against the boundaries of their lives. Love is a risk that is always worth taking, Gilligan reminds us."-New Orleans Times-Picayune