IMMERSIONS

A young woman searches for a reason her older sister pivoted from being an artist to being a nun.

Charley was the toast of New York’s elite dance world, first as a classical ballerina, then as the lead in a more experimental modern company. Then she abandoned her cosmopolitan life full of daring art and culture for one of religious contemplation in the French countryside. Her baby sister, Frances, grew up dancing ballet in Charley’s shadow, but an injury forced her to quit the profession for a more mainstream college education. While studying in New York, Frances learns that Charley’s elusive ex-husband, Johnny, has returned to the city after years away, and she’s determined to confront him to help her understand what made Charley so abruptly change her life. The stakes are high. Charley has joined a convent that essentially forbids contact with the outside world and she’s about to take a vow committing to this lifestyle for the rest of her days. Frances feels certain she can convince her sister to forget about this life of extreme isolation and come home already, if she can just discover the truth of what happened between Charley and Johnny to chase her so far away. She hunts Johnny down and befriends him, and as the relationship progresses, it’s hard to tell who’s seducing whom and for what reason. The story is narrated in the second person from Frances’ perspective. In her mind, she’s in constant conversation with the long-absent Charley, the big sister with the big personality who taught her to fall in love with dance—not this estranged spiritual servant. Author McCarthy mostly pulls off this direct address; she writes about desire, obsession, artistry, and coming of age with lyrical, precise language, even as the story’s revelations prove somewhat predictable.

Undeniably beautiful writing carries a less-than-compelling narrative.