From author Bill Roorbach--"THE REMEDY FOR LOVE"--an unusually involving contemporary tale--a romance in spite of itself, which is also a curious, cautionary adventure (see my review)

 
The Remedy for Love
 
They're calling it the "Storm of the Century," so Eric stops at the market for provisions on his way home from work. But when the unkempt and seemingly unstable young woman in front of him in line comes up short on cash, a kind of old-school charity takes hold of his heart - twenty bucks and a ride home is the least he can do, right? Trouble is, Danielle doesn't really have a home. She's squatting in a cabin deep in the woods, no electricity, no heat, nothing but the nearby river to sustain her. She'll need food, water, firewood, and that's just to get her through the storm: there's a whole Maine winter ahead.

So he gets her set up, departs with relief, climbs to the road, but his car has been towed with his phone inside, and the snow is coming down with historic speed and violence. There's no choice but to return to the cabin. Danielle is terrified, then merely hostile - who is this guy with his big idea that it's she who needs rescuing? As the snow keeps mounting, they're forced to ride out the storm together. For better and for worse.

The Remedy for Love is a harrowing story about the truths we reveal when there is no time or space for artifice.

MY REVIEW:  Once you start reading "The Remedy for Love", you will literally be compelled to see it through to the outcome. Author Bill Roorbach has created an unusually involving contemporary tale, a romance in spite of itself, which is also a curious, cautionary adventure. In the small, rural town of Woodchurch, Maine, Eric is an attorney with a moderate law practice. He cooks, savors his food and wine, and waits for his big-city wife, Alison, to make increasingly infrequent visits as their marriage sputters to an end. An occasional flicker of heat here and there has kept the spark burning far longer than it should. A massive winter storm is approaching Woodchurch just as Eric awaits Alison's tentative arrival. He prepares by stocking up on foods to appeal and appease his neglectful spouse. When a bedraggled young woman in the checkout line ahead of him is unable to pay for all of his purchases, Eric helps to pay her bill. A smart mind ruled by a kind heart, Eric also helps the woman, Danielle, make her way safely home to a rustic cabin near the river. Through circumstances created by his good intentions, which include having his vehicle towed away, Eric find himself with no other shelter than the dilapidated cabin of the defensive and delusional Danielle. Being snowed in with sharp-tongued, strange woman is a far cry from being snug in his own home, making his marvelous meal, and anticipating the arrival of his absentee wife. Danielle is erratic, disheveled, and obviously a member of the walking-wounded. However, as time passes and Danielle cleans up, enjoys Eric's impromptu improvisations with food and drink, she shows flashes of character which attract Eric, and he finds himself drawn to her in unexpected ways. As the storm builds and burgeons around them, they form an uneasy alliance, and awareness of each other blooms between them. However, there are secrets swirling amidst the storm, and the forces of nature are coming down on the little cabin. Soon, the fight for survival will push all else aside, and the danger of the moment becomes far more urgent than the questions of the past and the hopes of the future. "The Remedy for Love" is the perfect read for a cold, cuddled in the house weekend--just don't let yourself get snowed in.

Book Copy Gratis Library Thing 

Reviews

 

“Snowbound in Maine, two strangers struggle to survive--fighting, flirting, baring secrets. Their sexy, snappy dialogue will keep you racing through.” —People

“A snowstorm hits a small town in Maine, trapping strangers in a cabin: Danielle, who is homeless, and Eric, a lawyer who swoops in to help her. As temps drop, tensions rise and passions flare.” —Good Housekeeping

“The Remedy for Love is a page-turner, a love story and a vivid drama of man (and woman) against the elements. Those who read and loved Roorbach's sprawling, eccentric Life Among Giants, coming to HBO as a dramatic series, will be a little surprised to see that The Remedy for Love is nothing like it--except that it's a great read by a wonderful writer who obviously has many tricks up his sleeve.” —Newsday

“[A] superbly grown-up love story . . . Another expertly delivered portrait of the world from Roorbach (Life Among Giants, 2012, etc.), that poet of hopeless tangles.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Part survival tale and part romance . . . Roorbach does well in the limited space, keeping the narrative tight without being claustrophobic . . . There’s more depth to the fierce and mercurial Danielle than meets the eye, which gives [the characters'] interactions spark as the storm rages outside and something even more powerful develops within.” —Booklist

“One of the best novels of this or any year . . . A flat-out funny, sexy, and poignant romantic thriller.” —David Abrams, author of Fobbit

“The Remedy for Love is not the remedy for sleep deprivation. You’ll stay up all night . . . It is relentless and brilliant. Leave it to Roorbach to tease out the subtlest nuances in the progress of love while stoking a tale that is as gripping as any Everest expedition--and that is also tender and terrifying and funny and, in the end, so true it seems inevitable. I’m not sure there’s another American writing today who can lay down a love story, or any story, with the depth and appeal and freshness of Bill Roorbach.” —Peter Heller, author of The Dog Stars

Bill Roorbach
 

 

Bill Roorbach’s book, The Girl of the Lake, is a collection of stories from Algonquin in June 2017. Also from Algonquin are The Remedy for Love, a finalist for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the bestselling Life Among Giants, which won a Maine Literary Award in 2012. An earlier collection, Big Bend, won the Flannery O’Connor and O. Henry prizes in 2000. His memoir in nature, Temple Stream, just released in a new paperback edition by Down East Books, won the Maine Literary Award in nonfiction 2005. He’s just been named a 2018 Civitella Ranieri Foundation fellow.

Bill lives in Maine, with his wife, Juliet Karelsen, who is a visual artist, and their daughter, Elysia Roorbach, an aspiring ballerina and full-time teen.

https://www.billroorbach.com/