BETWEEN THE TIDES
Susannah Marren’s debut novel crackles with the tensions of real life—rivalries, betrayals, shaky marriages and the challenges of mothering—in a way that simultaneously resonates and illuminates. It’s no surprise that BETWEEN THE TIDES (St. Martin’s Press; July 2015) has such insight into the lives of women: their challenges, their triumphs and their inner yearnings. Told against the backdrop of the Selkie legend – enchanted seals who shed their skins to live on land as women – Marren’s unique style peels back the layers of a ‘ perfect world’ to reveal the shifting tides of marriage, family, career and friendships. Her protagonist, Lainie Smith Morris, moves against her will out of her beloved New York City for the affluent suburbs of New Jersey with her surgeon husband and four children. The dark side of the American dream begins to consume her as Lainie starts to unravel. Does Lainie depend too much on her twelve year old daughter, Matilde, and her art work...