"At once a harrowing mystery, an illuminating psychological novel of
subverted love and family dysfunction, and a powerful commentary on
class structure in America . . . [Banks is] one of America's finest
contemporary fiction writers." --Boston Globe
Part love story, part murder mystery, set on the cusp of the Second
World War, Russell Banks's sharp-witted and deeply engaging novel raises
dangerous questions about class, politics, art, love, and madness--and
explores what happens when two powerful personalities, trapped at
opposite ends of a social divide, begin to break the rules.
Vanessa Cole is a stunningly beautiful and wild heiress. Twice-married,
she has been scandalously linked to rich and famous men. On the night of
July 4, 1936, inside her family's remote Adirondack Mountain enclave
known as the Reserve, Vanessa will lose her father to a heart
attack--and meet Jordan Groves, a seductively carefree local artist.
Jordan is easy prey for Vanessa's electrifying charm. But when Vanessa
becomes unhinged by her father's unexpected death, she begins to spin
out of control, manipulating and destroying the lives of all who cross
her path.
Moving from the secluded beauty of the Adirondacks to war-torn Spain and
fascist Germany, and filled with characters that pierce the heart, The
Reserve is a clever, incisive, and passionately romantic novel of
suspense and drama.
