Jennie Fields has published three previous novels:
Lily Beach
This complex and widely acclaimed debut novel tells the story of a talented artist whose rush of sexual pleasure with anonymous partners becomes her escape from painful memories–until one of the three important men in her life becomes a catalyst for violence, tragedy, and life-changing force. “One of the most memorable female characters in recent fiction.”–Entertainment Weekly.
Crossing Brooklyn Ferry
“In the first work since her successful debut, Lily Beach, Fields takes her lead from the Walt Whitman poem Crossing Brooklyn Ferry to evoke the ongoing flow of lives and stories. Zosia Finney leaves upscale Manhattan with her husband and children to settle in an old Brooklyn neighborhood. Having journeyed through an emotionally starved working-class childhood and then married into a wealthy but equally cold family, she seeks solace and a new beginning for her family in the orderly rows of brownstones. As Zosia faces the reality of the depression that has reduced her husband to a shadow presence in her life, she finds herself drawn to her closest neighbor, a warm-hearted schoolteacher named Keevan O’Connor. Their relationship is a catalyst for unexpected change for both families, as Zosia’s husband is roused from his torpor and the tenuous relations among Keevan, his brother, and his sister-in-law collapse. Fields’s clear language and poetic tone make what could be mere soap opera a full-bodied modern folktale about the redemptive powers of love and sacrifice.” Library Journal
The Middle Ages
“From the author of Crossing Brooklyn Ferry comes a sophisticated urban love story that will appeal to readers who have reached their own “middle ages.” Amicably divorced from the father of her twin teenaged daughters, Jane Larsen lives well on her architect’s salary from the prestigious New York firm where she has spent her entire career. Yet she finds herself bored with the commercial building assignments and longs for some excitement. On a lark, Jane searches the Internet for her first real love, a long-lost college boyfriend who also stirred her early interest in architecture. She finds him living in Nashville, and they reconnect over the distance by sustaining an increasingly intimate e-mail correspondence. Meanwhile, when her firm is faced with trimming costs, Jane is fired with only a five-month severance package. Although concerned about her financial future and her ability to find an equally good position at her age, Jane realizes that this setback frees her to pursue her dream of designing houses. She jumps at the offer of a commission from a stranger, who also threatens to become a less distant lover. The complexities make for very enjoyable reading.” Library Journal