Three Women

"We begin in suburban Indiana with Lina, a homemaker and mother of two whose marriage, after a decade, has lost its passion. She passes her days cooking and cleaning for a man who refuses to kiss her on the mouth, protesting that "the sensation offends" him. To Lina's horror, even her marriage counselor says her husband's position is valid. Starved for affection, Lina battles daily panic attacks. When she reconnects with an old flame through social media, she embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming. In North Dakota we meet Maggie, a seventeen-year-old high school student who finds a confidant in her handsome, married English teacher. By Maggie's account, supportive nightly texts and phone calls evolve into a clandestine physical relationship, with plans to skip school on her eighteenth birthday and make love all day; instead, he breaks up with her on the morning he turns thirty. A few years later, Maggie has no degree, no career, and no dreams to live for. When she learns that this man has been named North Dakota's Teacher of the Year, she steps forward with her story -- and is met with disbelief by former schoolmates and the jury that hears her case. The trial will turn their quiet community upside down. Finally, in an exclusive enclave of the Northeast, we meet Sloane -- a gorgeous, successful, and refined restaurant owner -- who is happily married to a man who likes to watch her have sex with other men and women. He picks out partners for her alone or for a threesome, and she ensures that everyone's needs are satisfied. For years, Sloane has been asking herself where her husband's desire ends and hers begins. One day, they invite a new man into their bed, but he brings a secret with him that will finally force Sloane to confront the uneven power dynamics that fuel their lifestyle. Based on years of immersive reporting, and told with astonishing frankness and immediacy, Three Women is a groundbreaking portrait of erotic longing in today's America, exposing the fragility, complexity, and inequality of female desire with unprecedented depth and emotional power."--Dust jacket.

Indiana: Lina passes her days cooking and cleaning for her husband, who refuses to kiss her on the mouth; even her marriage counselor says her husband's position is valid. Reconnecting with an old flame through social media, she embarks on an affair. North Dakota: high school student Maggie finds a confidant in her married English teacher; supportive texts and phone calls evolve into a clandestine physical relationship. In the Northeast: Sloane, a successful restaurant owner, is happily married to a man who likes to watch her have sex with other men and women; he picks out partners for her and she ensures that everyone's needs are satisfied. Taddeo examines erotic longing and exposes the inequality of female desire with unprecedented depth and emotional power. -- adapted from jacket