Far — Victoria Lancelotta

A dark, unsettling novel about a woman whose reluctance to adopt traditional female roles of marriage and motherhood results in a painful alienation from her Italian-American family and community. Written with Lancelotta's characteristic passion and wit, Far is a haunting exploration of what it means for a woman to be alone in her family, her house and her body, even as she is hemmed in by them.Martha is single, in her early 30s, and has lived in Baltimore all her life. But she is late to do what they all expect her to do--marry and have children --and is instead involved with Edward, a man chosen precisely because she believes that he expects none of these things from her. When she begins to suspect otherwise, she accepts a new job in the small-town South. Martha yearns to be free of the sense of having disappointed her family--and just about everyone. But the ache for resolution proves too strong. As Martha discovers a growing intimacy between Edward and her sister, she's forced to take responsibility for her isolation.