The Barter

(Paperback)

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In today's 'lean in' era, debut novelist Siobhan Adcock casts the issue of whether women can ever have it all' into a superbly written novel that will have readers everywhere talking. Bridget has given up her career as an attorney to raise her daughter, joining a group of stay-at-home moms in a quiet Texas suburb. But for Bridget, some crucial part of the exchange is absent: Something she loves and needs. And now a terrifying presence has entered her home; only nobody but Bridget can feel it.

Reviews

"A thoughtful and surprisingly witty novel. It weighs its horrors precisely...What you're afraid of is part of who you are."The New York Times Book Review

"Eerie and atmospheric, this psychological thriller will twist its way into readers' psyches."Booklist

"Motherhood is the destabilizing bod that nearly undoes two women linked across a century in Adcocks suspenseful debut."Publishers Weekly

The Barteris a delightful and utterly unique portrait of parenthood across the ages. Siobhan Adcock manages to express what is inexpressible about motherhood and marriage, deftly capturing the banal and the divine, the give and thetake. As funny, profound, otherworldly, and terrifying as love itself, this is a debut novel not to be missed.Amy Shearn, author ofThe Mermaid of BrooklynandHow Far is the Ocean From Here

Absolutely outstanding.The Barteris a ghost story haunted by love, a love story haunted by ghosts, and a literary mystery propelled by the unsaid secrets of marriage and motherhood. In Adcock's world, you won't know whether it's fear, love, or outright beauty making your heart beat like a drum. You won't know, and you won't care at all. You'll just have to keep reading.Patrick Somerville, author ofThis Bright RiverandThe Cradle

ReadingThe Barteris like standing at the edge of an abyss: deep, dark, and terrifying, it is also a gripping and exhilarating story about fear, courage, and the demands and sacrifices of love. An enthralling page-turner of a novel that had me on the edge of my seat from the first page and continued to haunt me after the last.Catherine Chung, author ofForgotten Country

Siobhan Adcock takes a very contemporary question can women ever really have it all or are trade-offs invariably exacted and examines it through the startling prism of a ghost story. Part comedy of manners, part historical fiction, and part genuinely creepy page-turner,The Bartercasts a lively eye on the sacrifices, willing and involuntary, women make as they endeavor to weave together the hearts various desires.Leah Hager Cohen, author ofNo Book But the World

Siobhan Adcocks impressive debut is a spellbinding blend of historical fiction and ghost story, made all the more believableand harrowingby its realistic depiction of the tenuous balance between fulfillment and sacrifice within a marriage.Jennifer Chiaverini, author ofMrs. Lincolns Rival

Author Bio

SIOBHAN ADCOCK has an MFA from Cornell University. She lives with her family in Brooklyn.