Look at Us
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- $23.99
Publisher Description
A marriage is transformed by a new arrival
“Look at Us is a scrupulous dissection of a contemporary marriage in mortal peril. It’s also a wild ride of a novel, gorgeously written, by turns comic, lyrical, elegiac, disturbing, and profound. I couldn’t put it down until the startling conclusion.” —Valerie Martin, author of Property and I Give It to You
Martin, a market analyst, and Lily, a corporate attorney, have a life that many would envy—they share an expensive New York apartment with their twin toddlers, sample the delicacies of Manhattan’s finest restaurants, and take Caribbean vacations. But when the couple’s nanny announces her imminent departure, they panic: how will they ever find a replacement capable of managing their spirited boys? Enter Maeve, a young Irish émigré. Neither of them imagines how indispensable she will become, either to the household or to their marriage. As the family’s domestic bliss takes an unexpected turn, a different type of intimacy evolves, leading to an explosive finale.
A captivating, trenchant portrait of class and sexual dynamics, Look at Us reveals just how fragile our social arrangements really are.
T. L. Toma lives with his wife in Portland, Texas.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Toma (Border Dance) offers a riveting examination of the complex and destructive desires hidden in a seemingly ideal marriage. The Fowlers—Lily, a corporate lawyer, and Martin, a market analyst—have been married 12 years. Their lifestyle includes a renovated Dutch estate in Lower Manhattan, the finest restaurants, and vacations in the Caribbean. The unexpected departure of Paloma, nanny for eight years to their twin sons, upends their lives for a time until Maeve, a young Irish émigré, agrees to be an au pair for the boys. From the start, Martin is both drawn to and uncomfortable with Maeve. Her presence causes him to reexamine the "sexual diffidence" of his marriage, his past indiscretions, and his own uncertainties. Lily, worried by her husband's attraction to Maeve, becomes fascinated with her as well and sees in her a confidante. Toma is excellent at looking intensely below the superficial and the unspoken (on Martin: "If he became a stranger to Lily, then he would almost certainly end as a stranger to himself"), and his lucid style and cool tone add power to the story. The twists and turns of this contemporary morality play will have readers engrossed.
