Passionate Man: A Novel
Archie seems to have it all: a loving wife, three adorable children, a close relationship with his widowed father, and a thriving medical career. But when Archie's father falls in love again and marries Marina de Breton, Archie is angry and petulant. Then, just as Archie thinks he's coming to terms with his resentment, his father dies, and everything else in Archie's life begins to disintegrate. Estranged from his wife, Liza, unable to relate to his children, and losing track of his career, Archie finds himself infatuated with his stepmother. Both he and Liza are richly multidimensional characters, both passionate in their own ways but unable to communicate their feelings, a conundrum Trollope examines through Archie's eyes as she also considers the bigger picture, the conflict between loyalty and passion, both in the context of marriage and the family structure. Fast-paced and stirring, this is a strongly emotive and, at times, disturbing novel, but Trollope's no-nonsense prose makes this a compelling journey into the lives of two ordinary people coping with extraordinary events.Bonnie JohnstonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved