Presented to: Louise Plummer
For: A Dance for Three
As my two daughters became teenagers and their relationships with boys became more complicated, they struggled to decode the confusing cultural signs of romance. Reading Louise Plummer's modern-day novels of manners helped my daughters walk through the forest of adolescence. Her voice is like that of a friendly aunt who knows plenty of stories about love.
The latest in this line of novels is A Dance for Three, the story of a young woman who is nearly destroyed by her illusions about the boy she loves. Pregnant and physically abused by him, she experiences a psychotic break. The narration in three voices is as sophisticated as Virginia Sorensen's best work; the prose has the grace and power of poetry.
As Hannah, the protagonist, puzzles over the memory of her own seduction, readers puzzle with her. By the end of the book the meaning of the scene is transformed and our ethical outrage is focused. Like classic writers since the invention of the novel, Plummer unmasks illusion in the form of dishonesty, exaggeration, and self-deceit. Her voice is certain and steady, telling young women that they can trust their heads, trust their ability to judge.