THE TWOWEEKS

A novel of love and lust, memory and desire.

Cal and Winnie are happily married and have two children. Ian and Lara are happily married and have no children. All four adults are friends, with Winnie and Lara’s friendship being the longest. But Cal and Lara start to feel an undeniable attraction to each other and must decide what to do. The decision involves The Twoweeks (which Duberstein always capitalizes), a tryst that Ian knows about and sanctions but that Winnie is ignorant of. Duberstein’s narrative technique allows him to approach The Twoweeks indirectly, 30 years after the event, when Cal is a grandfather, and he and Lara are reviewing Lara’s journal of the event. This chronological dislocation allows the characters to match the reality of their lived experience against the distortion of memory, for Duberstein presents us with the journal itself as well as the older characters’ take on the adulterous explorations of their youth. Ian’s strategy is to see whether Lara truly loved him. If so, it stands to reason that she would return after her fling with Cal. The major complication for Cal involves his children, Jake and Hetty, for while he might be willing to sacrifice Winnie, his love for his children is extravagant, and he can’t bear to hurt or lose them. After The Twoweeks, a halcyon time of sensual indulgence, the characters are forced to review their altered lives. Duberstein writes vividly and explores the space between life as we live it and as we wish we could.