SAY MY NAME

A debut novel about a middle-aged woman who has an extramarital affair with a much younger man.

Eve is a 48-year-old suburban garden designer who passes her time foraging for lost treasure in consignment shops. Her marriage has become a cold and tiresome shadow of what it once was, her adult son is long gone, and her husband barely speaks to her. As the book opens, Eve discovers an exotic but badly damaged musical instrument in a secondhand store. As she's leaving the establishment with her new find, she bumps into her late brother's best friend from childhood and the old friend’s 28-year-old son, Micajah. Much to Eve’s surprise, Micajah, a handsome musician, seems to be flirting with her. He takes her number, promising to connect her with a man who might be able to repair the unusual instrument she's just bought. When he follows up days later, Eve still can’t decide whether he's interested in her or if she's imagining the attraction. When the pair meet up to “discuss the instrument,” Eve’s doubts are put to bed. Suddenly, she's caught in a whirlwind affair with this man, who’s not only part of a different generation, but who inhabits a social stratosphere saturated with drugs, sensuality, and a mysterious darkness. As someone who seeks out art and adventure, Micajah provides much-needed excitement for Eve, but the closer she grows to him, the more frightening his intense emotions become. As she explores physical pleasures, Eve struggles to determine how she feels about her aging body and her deteriorating marriage. In fast-paced but thoughtful prose, Huston (Love Child: A Memoir of Family Lost and Found, 2009) challenges traditional assumptions about relationships and shows beauty being discovered in unlikely places.

A new take on the May-December romance, perfect for fans of unexpected gifts.