Other Women Pb [Paperback]

Evelyn Lau (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1987

A portrait of a young woman devastated by the power of first love, by the author of "`Fresh Girls' and Other Stories". Fiona is a young artist who falls for an older married man. Although erotically charged, the affair is never consummated, yet Fiona remains obsessed long after he has left her.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The magnificent excess of emotion that fuels unrequited, obsessional love is the subject of this first novel from the 23-year-old Lau (author, at 17, of the memoir Runaway and later of Fresh Girls and Other Stories). Fiona, 24, is an artist enjoying a successful career until she falls hard for Raymond, a married man in his 40s with "the face of someone for whom making a living means causing hurt to others." Among those whom this smooth-talking, linen-trousered lothario hurts is Fiona, as he alternately entices and rebuffs her. Fiona's dolorous descent into a yearlong binge of emotional masochism is explained by such statements as "love is larger than the bodies and minds of the people it occupies" and references to parallels to her parents' troubled relationship, begging the question of the affair's deeper significance. This is fertile, brambly territory that has been exquisitely rendered by Proust and, more recently, Annie Ernaux, but it strains the talents of a greener writer. Lau excels, however, in brief flares of visceral imagery, as when Fiona describes her lover's body with the painterly eye of a woman too easily seduced by surfaces.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

What does a mature, intelligent woman do when she falls in love with a stranger, a married man whom she spies across a crowded room at a cocktail party? Not only does Fiona, a sculptor in her mid-twenties, fall in love, she hurtles toward obsession with Raymond, who tells her literally from the beginning that he cannot give himself to her in the way she desires or leave his wife of 15 years. In fact, they never truly consummate their "affair." In this first novel, Lau (Fresh Girls, LJ 2/1/95) examines the addictive, obsessive, gripping nature of love. It is not a pretty picture. Fiona is hopelessly addicted, and, even though she carries on with professional and social engagements, she is unable to shake loose of her addiction. Lau's prose is like cut diamonds?crystal clear, smooth yet penetrating. The beauty of her writing stays with you long after the fascination with her characters wears off. Finally, Fiona accepts what is painfully obvious: the end of the affair. But the emotional damage won't end so easily. This is a disturbing portrait of a disturbed woman, and many readers impatient with Fiona will wonder why the author never sends her to the psychiatrist's office or to group therapy to get some help for her obsession.?Lisa S. Nussbaum, Euclid P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Minerva (March 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749395273
• ISBN-13: 978-0749395278
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,325,872 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Crystal clear, emotional image of an "Other Woman" figure, July 24, 2002

By 

Stephen M. Bauer (Hazlet, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Other Women: A Novel (Hardcover)

The novel, Other Women, illustrates the pathetic situation of a single woman's unrequited love for a married man. Fiona, a young twenty-something artist meets a married man, Raymond, a powerful and socially prominent CEO who is old enough to be her father. His business deals require him to travel often, and the two of them begin a year or two of meetings in various hotels in different cities and in Fiona's apartment.

Raymond never considers their relationship as anything more than a diversion. To him she is just as a playmate. Much of the physical intimacy they have is more like that of a prostitute and john, not like lovers. Early on in the relationship he even asked her if she had found a man yet. Raymond tells her how much he loves his wife. Fiona has fallen so hard and so deep for the man that she ignores these and other many other negative signals. Later, after Raymond tells her point blank that he will never leave his wife, she still persists.

Once Fiona understands the importance of Raymond's wife to him, she becomes obsessed with her. This is because Fiona wants to be her. In her fantasies she physically destroys Raymond's wife so she can take his place.

The book has a very poetic feel. The style is slightly reminiscent of a journal, in a good way. Much of it is in the present tense. Much of what Fiona says toward or about Raymond is said in his absence, in the second person. It suggests an inner dialogue. It is as if the affair was in the past and Fiona is reliving it emotionally. In the beginning of the book, the style seems a little awkward, but the frequent images and metaphors are consistently excellent and carry the reader very well. The use of the second person in addressing Raymond works very well also. Past the mid-point of the book, I felt impelled to find out how Fiona's situation would get resolved.

At the beginning of the story, in my mind, I condemned Fiona for her lack of ethics and poor judgement. But mid-way through I began to have some sympathize for her, as it became clear she was a prisoner of her own emotions. Eventually, the almost unendurable pain forces Fiona to face the reality of the situation. Once she accepted it, her infatuation broke. What more can we expect from a person than to learn from their experiences?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars poetic suffering as only lau can do it, July 16, 1998

By 

vic spicer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Other Women: A Novel (Hardcover)

i keep trying to convince myself this isn't in our universe. why would a brilliant, successful woman totally destroy herself in every way possible for the attentions of a man who cares nothing for her? yet the ride along the way is compelling, poetic, sometimes comic and terrifying. not so much a story as an enumeration of ways to suffer and feel wretched. the line about the ethereal feeling she gets from throwing up 3 times in one evening still haunts me.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyday life for some, October 31, 2001

By 

Laura Lea May "Beauty sleeps deep within the ... (Salisbury, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Other Women (Hardcover)

My friend sent me this book a few days ago. I opened it's pages and begin to read. I began relating to this character, and seeing her as myself for a bit there. I felt like I was inside this story. Fiona, the main character or main character emphasis--is a desperate woman in love with a married man. Not totally unbelieveable...it happens everyday. The narraitve voice Evelyn Lau takes as this character is very vivid and honest.

this is a very alive, and hip piece of new age writing. It surpasses most fiction, mainly because it has a emotional fixation with the reader, you are either angry, depressed, happy or totally miffed at the aftions of each character. Raymond, Fiona's love whom is married, will not leave his wife of 15 years for Fiona and woman he has never even sexual intercourse with.

Fiona in a desperate attempt to persue Raymond and make her dream of eternal love with him ends up becoming an alcoholic...she spends most of hert time doting and thinking of him. Every man she sees reminds her of Raymond...nothing wrong with that. Is it mere obsession or real love? Who knows...I won't tell my opinion...

The lyrical aspect of each sentence keeps you engrossed the whole time, and you almost want more when you finish. i loved her wording, and her narritive voice...very powerful and different I must say!