Casting Off

Fiction. "Louise DeSalvo's visionary novel—sexy and smart, fresh and timeless—reminds us that the more women's lives have changed, the more they remain the same. Helen and Maive love their families and their men and their deep, honest friendship with each other. Their story might have been written yesterday, and is all the richer when we learn of its own long journey into the light."—Pamela Redmond Satran

"Read this book and meet two ballsy, brazen women whose lives are as captivating as the friendship they share. In this exquisite novel, a new world is imagined in which women—married women—make bold choices about sex gleefully and without guilt. CASTING OFF is a keen, funny, and engrossing portrait of the culture in which we live, and two fascinating characters that fearlessly chart their own path."—Emily Bernard

"Subversive, feminist, rich in dark humor and erotic intrigue, CASTING OFF opens up the friendship of two women saved by adultery from the deadening effects of childrearing, tedious husbands and sometimes disappointing lovers. Louise DeSalvo's mordant wit and intelligence sparkle through the escapades of Maive and passionate loves of Helen who, between them, perfect the craft of secret, extramarital sex. DeSalvo uses the beds of New York and New Jersey as pathways into a sexuality that encompasses female power in classical myth as well as daily life. Nancy Caronia's powerful, invaluable introduction situates the novel in a broad spectrum of writing by women. Louise DeSalvo, celebrated as a gifted memoirist and accomplished scholar and critic, has brought us a compelling novel."—Josephine G. Hendin

"Once deemed 'immoral' and 'perverse,' CASTING OFF now takes its rightful place on North American bookshelves. Erotic and bold, DeSalvo's novel asks what it means for a woman to be sexual, creative, and free."—Julija Šukys