The Longings of Women
A Novel
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4.2 • 60 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
An “extraordinary” novel of the intertwined lives of three troubled women, by the New York Times–bestselling author of Gone to Soldiers (San Francisco Chronicle).
When her best friend’s death rattles her sense of complacency, college professor Leila Landsman decides she’s finally had enough of her cheating husband. Leila throws herself into her work and encounters Becky Burgess, a local woman who climbed her way out of poverty but whose success is completely halted when she becomes the prime suspect in her husband’s murder. Meanwhile, Leila’s housekeeper, Mary Burke, is no stranger to failed marriage. Abandoned by her husband for a younger woman, and unable to support herself on her own income alone, Mary now secretly sleeps in her clients’ houses, hiding her homelessness to remain employed and survive.
Flawed but resourceful, frightened yet determined, these three women must draw on an inner strength they never knew existed to make it without the men they’ve come to depend on. Although their situations differ, Leila, Becky, and Mary have all reached their tipping points—and each is about to be pushed to the brink—in this gripping and relatable story of the dangers of dependence and the liberating power of self-reliance.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Piercy's ( Gone to Soldiers ) latest novel is one of her best: like all her work, it's a well-crafted and compelling narrative, and it also deftly illuminates a timely theme. In unpretentious but quietly forceful prose, she portrays three memorable women from different backgrounds whose lives plausibly and poignantly intersect. The three heroines are Leila, a middle-aged Boston college professor and writer; her long-suffering and secretly homeless 60-ish housekeeper Mary; and Becky, an ambitious young wife accused of murdering her husband and who is the subject of Leila's new book. All three face problems typical of women ill-used by men and by society: trying to fill the role of the ``good wife''; financial dependency; the low regard accorded older women; and the difficulties of morganatic marriages. Especially wrenching is Piercy's limning of the modest middle-class aspirations of the average woman and the precariousness of a sense of self-worth that is dependent on others. Moving back and forth among her protagonists, Piercy maintains a suspenseful narrative drive which leads to a rending climax. If the ending is a bit implausible, her readers won't hold it against Piercy; in this book she airs subjects of importance not only to women but to the society that encompasses them. 75,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternate; author tour.
Customer Reviews
Thirty years later and still profoundly relevant.
Each character real and true
Worth a read
It was a compelling read, although not terribly well written. Many of the characters (particularly the men) came across as one dimensional. Despite all of that, it was thought provoking . Who among us doesn’t know an older woman who has lost control of her life due to the actions of the man she tied her life to? There were interesting perspectives here and voices we don’t often hear