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"A deep look into feelings and relationships."
Reviewed by Morgan Chilson
Posted October 20, 2004

It's not what you would expect of Carl. It's certainly not what his wife, Olivia, has come to know about him. But one day, in the midst of their "perfect" life, Carl goes to work and doesn't come home. His disappearance creates an explosive disturbance in a world that had Read more...

"Absorbing story"
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted November 27, 2004

Belvedere College Professors Olivia and Carl Larkin enjoy teaching, love their two children, Daniel and Sophie, who are away at school, and appreciate life in Willow, Massachusetts that enables them to take weekend jaunts to the Cape. In their fifties, everything seems perfect for this couple until Carl vanishes Read more...

Summary

From the author of Jimmy's Girl—a writer who "hits the emotional bull's-eye dead center" (Baton Rouge Advocate)— comes a new novel that will remind us all that sometimes you don't know how much you have until it's gone. Known for her gift for reaching straight to the heart, Stephanie Gertler now tells the story of a couple whose seemingly perfect life is toppled in an instant and saved through their bold leap of faith. Olivia and Carl appear to have the perfect life: a son and a daughter, weekends on Cape Cod, and satisfying work as professors at Belvedere College in the picturesque town of Willow, Massachusetts. Until, one day, the seemingly stable, dependable Carl disappears without a trace— leaving behind only a cryptic note. Alone and terrified, Olivia cannot help but relive the long-buried pain she felt when she lost her first husband. While Carl travels back to his childhood hometown to confront the demons he has always hidden from his wife, Olivia takes a journey of her own as she tries to make peace with the memories that have always haunted her. Told with graceful skill and unflinching honesty, The Windmill is a story of the secrets we are entitled to keep in a marriage and those we must share— marking a splendid new level of achievement in this much- admired author.