{"product_id":"split-level-a-novel-9781631525551","title":"Split-Level: A Novel","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Berger excels at showing her characters to be people who were raised in old-fashioned homes who are now confronting unconventional, risky life choices—and dealing with the stresses and absurdities that follow their decisions. A smart, nuanced novel about open marriage . . .”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  “Sande Boritz Berger sets a 1970s Jersey housewife on a provocative collision course in Split-Level, a sharp portrait of female empowerment. Through sensitive insights, a woman finds an honest version of herself after realizing that her ideas on the nuclear family have made her erase vital parts of her identity.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003ci\u003eForeword Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e (five-star review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  In \u003ci\u003eSplit-Level\u003c\/i\u003e, set as the nation recoils from Nixon, Alex Pearl is about to commit the first major transgression of her life. But why shouldn’t she remain an officially contented, soon-to-turn-thirty wife? She’s got a lovely home in an upscale Jersey suburb, two precocious daughters, and a charming husband, Donny. But Alex can no longer deny she craves more—some infusion of passion into the cul-de-sac world she inhabits.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  After she receives a phone call from her babysitter’s mother reporting that Donny took the teen for a midnight ride, promising he’d teach her how to drive, Alex insists they attend Marriage Mountain, the quintessential 1970s “healing couples sanctuary.” Donny accedes—but soon becomes obsessed with the manifesto \u003cem\u003eA Different Proposition\u003c\/em\u003e and its vision of how multiple couples can live together in spouse-swapping bliss. At first Alex scoffs, but soon she gives Donny much more than he bargained for. After he targets the perfect couple to collude in his fantasy, Alex discovers her desire for love escalating to new heights—along with a willingness to risk \u003cem\u003eeverything. Split-Level\u003c\/em\u003e evokes a pivotal moment in the story of American matrimony, a time when it seemed as if an open marriage might open hearts as well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e2019 Readers' Favorite Awards Finalist in Fiction (Women's)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cb\u003e“How impressive \u003cem\u003eSplit-Level\u003c\/em\u003e is: wonderfully rich with details, fluent and fluid, with an inevitable-yet-unexpected ending, inspired throughout is its portrait of a woman whose essential life is an unconscious double-ness\/split-ness.”\u003cbr\u003e —Joyce Carol Oates, author of \u003cem\u003eWe Were the Mulvaneys\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eBlonde\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  “Ah, the 1970s. Miniskirts. Suburbia. Tie-dye and the freewheeling era of the so-called open marriage. Boritz Berger’s sly, smart second novel, written in prose as glorious as the era’s iconic tequila sunrise, gives us an on-the-verge-of-an-adventure heroine who comes to realize that sometimes having the life you desperately need means giving up the life you desperately want.”\u003cbr\u003e —Caroline Leavitt, \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e best-selling author of \u003cem\u003ePictures of You\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eIs This Tomorrow\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  “Berger excels at showing her characters to be people who were raised in old-fashioned homes who are now confronting unconventional, risky life choices—and dealing with the stresses and absurdities that follow their decisions. A smart, nuanced novel about open marriage . . .”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  “Sande Boritz Berger sets a 1970s Jersey housewife on a provocative collision course in Split-Level, a sharp portrait of female empowerment. Through sensitive insights, a woman finds an honest version of herself after realizing that her ideas on the nuclear family have made her erase vital parts of her identity.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003ci\u003eForeword Reviews (five-star review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  “With humor and poignancy, Berger brings us to the depths of how frightening it is to lose all trust in those we love, and the uncertainty that all we thought we had might slide away.”\u003cbr\u003e —Nahid Rachlin, author of \u003cem\u003ePersian Girls\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eForeigner\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  “In her latest novel, Split-Level, Sande Boritz Berger paints a vivid picture of the early 1970s, a time when the sexual revolution was making its way through the suburbs of America. With equal parts humor and heart, Berger explores the anguish of a marriage coming apart and how some go to any lengths to mend it.”\u003cbr\u003e —Laurie Gelman, author of \u003cem\u003eClass Mom\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  “\u003ci\u003eSplit-Level\u003c\/i\u003e is a gripping, fast-paced story, perfect for readers of literary fiction who enjoy a mature, nuanced look at the complications of marital relationships.”\u003cbr\u003e —Betty Hafner, author of \u003ci\u003eNot Exactly Love: A Memoir\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  “A page-turning journey through 1970’s suburbia.”\u003cbr\u003e —Elizabeth McCourt, author of \u003ci\u003eSin in the Big Easy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  “In \u003ci\u003eSplit-Level\u003c\/i\u003e, Berger, a keen observer of suburban angst, takes us back to the early days of the sexual revolution in the ’burbs—to the promise and reality of bed-hopping and marital bliss—as it plays out in the lives of Alex and Donny Pearl and those of a neighboring couple whose marriage is in a parallel state of decline. Hard to put down; hard to forget.”\u003cbr\u003e —Barbara Donsky, author of award-winning \u003ci\u003eVeronica’s Grave: A Daughter’s Memoir\u003c\/i\u003e and the international bestseller \u003ci\u003eMissing Mother\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  “A poignant look back on suburban post-war haze during the swinging ’70s, Berger has written a smart and unpredictably funny novel. Her protagonist, Alex, grappling with marriage, two small children, and the conflicting social mores of that time, is sure to win over your heart.”\u003cbr\u003e —Susan Tepper, author of \u003ci\u003eMonte Carlo Days \u0026amp; Nights\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Merrill Diaries\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"She Writes Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53188936040791,"sku":"9781631525551","price":12.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/split-level-a-novel-9781631525551","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}