Greene (The Headmaster's Wife) begins this dramatic novel in 2012 with two former lovers, prize-winning poet Henry Gold and Connecticut housewife Margot Baldwin, catching sight of each other on a Manhattan street. Both are instantly thrown back in time to the campus of Bannister College in 1991, where the two first met. Despite being from two different worlds-he was Jewish and poor, she was WASPy and wealthy-they fell in love. Then a tragic circumstance forced the two of them apart, and they haven't seen or been in contact with one another since. When they finally reconnect, all those old emotions come rushing back. Will Henry, settled into his comfortable divorced-dad life in Manhattan, and Margot, trapped in a loveless marriage in which she has two children, rekindle the love they lost 21 years ago, or will old secrets and hurts stand in the way of their future happiness? Greene applies a rigorous intelligence to a familiar premise. Piled-on melodramatic elements (an overbearing father, an act of violence) and a pat ending threaten to undermine the care with which he has created two believable and empathetic characters. Nevertheless, readers will be rooting to see Henry and Margot together again despite the odds. Agent: Marly Rusoff, Marly Rusoff & Associates. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Readers will welcome this new novel from the author of the much-admired The Headmaster's Wife (2014). Swaying softly between the heady days of their college romance in 1991 and the ho-hum existence of their middle-aged lives, Henry's and Margot's worlds figuratively collide on a crowded Manhattan street one afternoon, and suddenly all the heartbreak, betrayal, and yearning of the past 21 years comes rushing back. While students at elite Bannister College in upstate New York, rebellious artist Margot was in her natural environment of wealth and privilege, while Henry, a scholarship student from working-class Providence, was the odd man out. Yet his innate talent for poetry and romance spoke to Margot in a way no one else could, and their love affair seemed destined to defy the odds. Unfortunately, her father had other ideas, and the lovers were brutally forced apart in an episode torn straight from Shakespeare. Greene's candid tale of true love besieged by insurmountable hardship, only to be rekindled later in life, is delicate and tender, providing readers with a gentle escape and soulful interlude.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2016 Booklist

In his powerful, emotionally moving love story, Greene (The Headmaster's Wife) -candidly acknowledges life's complexities-and the many challenges that couples face as they negotiate romantic relationships and family expectations. Henry Gold falls deeply in love as a young college student in upstate New York, but the love of his life, Margot, is torn away from him by her wealthy, arrogant father. Henry moves on to marriage with another woman, fatherhood, divorce, and a restless and unhappy middle age. A large part of the novel is devoted to examining Henry's and Margot's long journeys to adult maturity. They have important things to learn about themselves and the world before they can find each other again. Their love survives the passage of decades, and a chance encounter in New York some 20 years later reignites the relationship. Greene handles this all with great sympathy and intelligence. VERDICT An inspiring novel about surviving the mistakes of our youth; recommended for romantics and realists alike. [See Prepub Alert, 11/30/15.]-Patrick Sullivan, Manchester Community Coll., CT © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.