Blue Field

Elise Levine uses language as a dare--tough, intense, almost defensive; ironically, it only heightens the effect of her compassion, which pierces the narrative with equal immediacy. From this edginess her vivid characters--who, in various states of ruin and repair, struggle towards a sense of family--emerge as authentic as bone.--Anne Michaels

When her friend Jane dies while exploring an underwater cave with her husband Rand, Marilyn takes up diving again, to honor--and outdo--her late friend. Marilyn drags Rand with her as she increasingly pushes herself far past her limits and skill level, endangering them both in their private underwater version of hell.

Recalling the best of Mary Gaitskill and Lidia Yuknavitch, this gripping, tense novel explores the tangled lives of three driven risk-addicts--deeply flawed people bound and propelled and ultimately unraveled by desire, loss, and guilt. Driven by character, foregrounding language and form, at times fabulist and dystopic in style, the novel's heightened sexual atmosphere and psychological distress immerse the reader in a world of unforgettable depth and darkness.

After more than two decades since the release of her sensational, critically-acclaimed collection Driving Men Mad, Blue Field marks the much-anticipated return to form for Levine.

Elise Levine is the author of the story collection Driving Men Mad and the novel Requests and Dedications. She lives in Baltimore, and directs the MA in Writing Program at Johns Hopkins University.