A DANGEROUS FRIENDSHIP

An intense friendship between two women becomes emotionally dangerous in Merle’s 1980s-set novel.

Tina, a 29-year-old aspiring writer at the tail end of an unsatisfying marriage, meets a new female friend, known as Spike, at a writer’s retreat. From the start, she’s drawn to Spike’s audacity, energy, confidence, and wild stories—so much so that she views Spike as not merely a pal, but also a guide: “While I’m not a superstitious person, she did seem sent. As if the ripples in the lake finally calmed and in the limpid pool I saw the reflection of everything I denied I was or could be.” Their relationship deepens after they both return to New York City, become regular drinking buddies, and confide in each other about their relationships. Spike tells tales that often involve abuse and the threat of violence, and they initially thrill, but soon start to worry Tina; a violent work of fiction that Spike is revising also gives Tina pause. Soon, Tina starts to feel less like Spike’s friend, and more like a monitor of Spike’s changing moods—waiting to react to her, rather than acting on her own desires. She tries to extract herself from the friendship, but she fears it may already be too late. Merle charts the path of Tina’s mounting realization with a sensitive and perceptive portrayal of a writer who finds that Spike is a lot more fun as a lively, past-tense story than she is as a present-tense reality. Some of the male characters in the women’s lives are not as well drawn, but as the broad types they are, they work well enough in the context of the story. The dialogue, on the other hand, is uniformly sharp, sometimes funny, and keeps the story moving briskly along.

A smart, absorbing study of a spiraling, unhealthy relationship.