Synopses & Reviews
A mesmerizing novel of psychological intrigue written by a consummate storyteller at the height of her powers.
Revenge is a riveting and psychologically complex novel of two women connected by their neighborhood, their work, and their dark stories. Andrea Geller is a young painter trapped in an obsession---a belief that her stepmother caused her father's death. Loretta Partlow is an aging, blocked world-class novelist in search of a story. As these two women spin a web that entangles them both, the novel takes us through narrative twists and turns. Revenge is part thriller, part literary tale about how stories are made and told and appropriated from other people's lives.
Review
"Mary Morris paints a compelling tale of two women's obsessions and the blackest
Revenge."--Elissa Schappell,
Vanity Fair
"A thriller doesn't always need international intrigue, firearms, or even a murder to be exciting. In the right hands, a story of a growing friendship can be as tense as anything most publishers would subtitle 'A tale of suspense.' Revenge is such a novel."-- Ron Bernas, Chicago Tribune
"Who is doing the using and who is being used? That is the question in this tautly plotted novel, genteel fiction with the anxious heartbeat of a psychological thriller."--Amanda Heller, The Boston Globe
"A powerful exploration of the ferocity with which we cling to the stories we tell ourselves when the facts have become too frightening to bear."--Valerie Martin, author of Property
Synopsis
Part thriller and part literary tale, "Revenge" is the riveting and psychologically complex novel of two women connected by their neighborhood, their work, and their dark stories.
Synopsis
Praise for
Revenge"A compelling and darkly beautiful book...Never less than gripping, it builds to the realm of the genuinely revelatory."
- Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer prize--winning author of The Hours
"Revenge is a novel about obsession---how quietly it begins, how all-consuming it becomes. A powerful exploration of the ferocity with which we cling to the stories we tell ourselves when the facts have become too frightening to bear."
- Valerie Martin, author of Mary Reilly, winner of the Orange Prize
Synopsis
Revenge is a compelling and psychologically complex story of female friendship, art, and life. When a young painter moves next door to a world class novelist with writer's block, the two women become entwined in a novel described by Michael Cunningham as "compelling and darkly beautiful . . . Never less than gripping,
Revenge builds to the realm of the genuinely revelatory."
About the Author
Mary Morris is the author of five previous novels, including
Acts of God, The Night Sky, and
House Arrest; three collections of short stories, including
The Lifeguard; and three travel memoirs, including
Nothing to Declare and
Angels & Aliens. Her numerous short stories and travel essays have appeared in
The Paris Review, The New York Times, and
Vogue. The recipient of the Rome Prize, Morris teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Reading Group Guide
1. How does the novels opening scene, with Andrea at her apartment window observing the Partlows, prepare you for Andrea and Lorettas relationship? Do you think it is significant that Morris begins her novel this way? Explain.
2. Andrea and Lorettas professions, that of a painter and writer, requires them to observe the world around them. Do you see differences in the way each woman observes life? Explain. In what ways might a painter and writer observe the world differently? In what ways might it be similar? Explain.
3. Gil Marken refers to Andreas House on Shallow Lake series as obsessive (p. 70), while Jim Alder calls it compulsive (p. 183). Do you see a difference between an obsession, a compulsion and a rut? Explain. Which best describes Andreas behavior? Why?
4. Why do you think Andrea is initially drawn to Loretta? How does Andreas attraction to her change?
5. On page 80, Andrea reveals that she keeps reading Lorettas books believing that “she will find a clue to her own life.” Does she? Do you think what she eventually learns about herself is different from what she originally hoped? Explain. In what ways might Andreas motivation for reading be similar and/or different from your own reasons for reading?
6. Why do you think Andrea is drawn to both Gil and Charlie? Can you identify with her attraction to such different people? Why? By the last chapter, do you think Andrea is finally capable of a healthy sexual relationship? Explain.
7. In the beginning of chapter six, Andrea finds a duck frozen to a pond by its foot (pp 164-65). What is the significance of that scene to the story as a whole? Do you see any parallels between the ducks struggle and any of the other characters in the novel? Explain.
8. On page 167, Morris writes: “Andrea remembers once telling a guidance counselor that she wanted to search for her biological parents. The problem was, she told that counselor, she wasnt adopted.” What does this memory reveal about Andrea? How is it part of a larger theme in the novel concerning parents and children?
9. On page 185, Loretta recalls someone saying that “An artists revenge is her work,” while, for Andrea, she views her art as a form of solace. What do these two perspectives reveal about the differences in Loretta and Andreas approach to their art? Can an artists work be both a source of revenge and solace? Explain. At the novels end, why does Andrea take a photo of Lorettas house? How is it her ultimate act of revenge?
10. In Andreas letter to the editor (pp 226-27), regarding the papers coverage of Loretta Partlow and her book Revenge, she asks: “Does a writer have the right to take whatever story has been handed to her and retell it as if it were hers? Or worse, distort it in unspeakable ways?” How would you answer these questions? Are novelists the only artists susceptible to such charges?
11. Do you think Andrea eventually sends the letter she wrote to the newspaper? Do you think it is important whether she does or not? Why?
12. The novel Loretta has written is called Revenge, which is the same title as the book you are reading. Do you think they are one and the same?
13. The novel is rich in visual detail - the ducks foot, Shallow Lake, the details of Lorettas house. Do you feel this visual detail deepens our sense of Andrea as an artist? Are these things she would see?