A captivating, emotionally taut novel about the complexities of a friendship between two women—and how it shapes, and reshapes, both of their lives
"Filled with gorgeous prose and deep emotion . . . Explores what it means to be an artist, delves into the vicissitudes of life and death, and takes us on journey through the splendor (and sometimes ugliness) of the American West—with dollops of Flaubert, Faulkner, Chekhov, Collette, and Chandler along the way."—Lisa See, author of The Island of Sea Women
Jolene and Verna share complicated ties that have crystallized over time. Beginning when they were girls discovering their needs and desires, their ongoing stories have been inextricably linked. But when Verna marries Vincent, Jolene’s ex-husband, their paths may have finally, permanently diverged.
A successful and provocative feminist artist, Jolene travels the world, attracting attention wherever she goes. Verna, a writer, works from her home near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, where she and Vincent plan to spend the rest of their lives in a contemplative, intimate routine. Then Jolene asks one more favor of Verna—to take a road trip with her to their small hometown in Utah. It’s a journey that will force them to confront both the truths and falsehoods of their memories of each other and of the very beginnings of their friendship, and to reckon with the meaning of love, of time itself, of the bonds that matter most to us, and with what we owe one another.
Genre: Literary Fiction
"Filled with gorgeous prose and deep emotion . . . Explores what it means to be an artist, delves into the vicissitudes of life and death, and takes us on journey through the splendor (and sometimes ugliness) of the American West—with dollops of Flaubert, Faulkner, Chekhov, Collette, and Chandler along the way."—Lisa See, author of The Island of Sea Women
Jolene and Verna share complicated ties that have crystallized over time. Beginning when they were girls discovering their needs and desires, their ongoing stories have been inextricably linked. But when Verna marries Vincent, Jolene’s ex-husband, their paths may have finally, permanently diverged.
A successful and provocative feminist artist, Jolene travels the world, attracting attention wherever she goes. Verna, a writer, works from her home near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, where she and Vincent plan to spend the rest of their lives in a contemplative, intimate routine. Then Jolene asks one more favor of Verna—to take a road trip with her to their small hometown in Utah. It’s a journey that will force them to confront both the truths and falsehoods of their memories of each other and of the very beginnings of their friendship, and to reckon with the meaning of love, of time itself, of the bonds that matter most to us, and with what we owe one another.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"A fascinating novel built delicately on the shifting sands of interwoven destinies, MacArthur Park tells the tale of three flawed people intimately linked by love and mutual history. Judith Freeman's humanity and compassion are a marvel, as is her understanding of the deep roots of friendship and the patient unfolding of relationships." - Janet Fitch
"Judith Freeman's luminously written tale of two friends on a journey toward self-resolution." - Anne Taylor Fleming
"Like Crossing to Safety, Wallace Stegner's classic novel of life-long friendship in all its richness and complexity, Judith Freeman's MacArthur Park invites us into the deepest, truest, most contradictory chambers of the intimate, difficult, and surprising bonds between three beautifully drawn characters across the decades. You might not always like these three, but you will love them, as I do--for who they once were, who they have become, and who they may yet still be." - John Burnham Schwartz
"Filled with gorgeous prose and deep emotion . . . Explores what it means to be an artist, delves into the vicissitudes of life and death, and takes us on journey through the splendor (and sometimes ugliness) of the American West—with dollops of Flaubert, Faulkner, Chekhov, Collette, and Chandler along the way." - Lisa See
"Judith Freeman's luminously written tale of two friends on a journey toward self-resolution." - Anne Taylor Fleming
"Like Crossing to Safety, Wallace Stegner's classic novel of life-long friendship in all its richness and complexity, Judith Freeman's MacArthur Park invites us into the deepest, truest, most contradictory chambers of the intimate, difficult, and surprising bonds between three beautifully drawn characters across the decades. You might not always like these three, but you will love them, as I do--for who they once were, who they have become, and who they may yet still be." - John Burnham Schwartz
"Filled with gorgeous prose and deep emotion . . . Explores what it means to be an artist, delves into the vicissitudes of life and death, and takes us on journey through the splendor (and sometimes ugliness) of the American West—with dollops of Flaubert, Faulkner, Chekhov, Collette, and Chandler along the way." - Lisa See
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