Lois' Home

Lois' home in Florida is the same house where she raised Susan as a girl. Much of the novel's narrative present action occurs within this house. When Lois and Susan are enclosed together in the space, many of their old differences and tensions resurface. Susan views the house as a simultaneous place of refuge and entrapment. Initially, visiting Lois is an escape for Susan, a chance for her to remove herself from Bobby, the man she is afraid she does not love, and to work on her memoir. Yet, once Susan is in the space, she discovers the significant amount of unresolved issues buried in her psyche. Though Lois has lived in the house for over 30 years, Susan's presence within her familiar space, upturns her sense of peace and security. Within the house, the two women move towards renewing their relationship and reinventing their definitions of familial...