In her debut novel ‘Thirst For Salt,’ madelaine_lucas explores love's sandy gray areas.
. It’s not a love story told in sweeping declarations or with promises that love will conquer all, but one consumed with pleasure – and not even the carnal, so much as tiny, exquisite intimacies; lovers licking mango sprinkled with lime and chili salt off each other’s faces in bed, drinking glasses of wine as decadent as a whole meal, sleeping with grains of sand between the sheets. Most of all, it is a love story not so much about how people come together as how they fall apart.
Lucas’ debut novel chronicles the relationship between Jude, 42 and an unnamed narrator, 24 – who “marveled at the symmetry of our ages” – who meet while she is vacationing with her single mother at Sailors Beach in New South Wales, Australia, off the coast of the South Pacific, after finishing college. She meets him while swimming in the ocean. Later, on the beach, he calls her “Sharkbait,” and brings her back to his house to nurse her wounds after she’s stung by a bluebottle jellyfish.
“I realized that the power couldn't just go in one direction because then it would be static, and that doesn't feel true to any experience of intimacy that I've had,” Lucas says. “The younger woman, older man dynamic is such a trope. I did really want to bring nuance to it. It felt really crucial that the book be driven by her desire for him, as much, if not more so, than his desire for her.
“My parents, also like my narrator’s, divorced when I was very small, and I grew up in the shadow of their love story – which was very romantic, but tragic to me because as long as I can remember, I knew that it didn't last,” Lucas says. “I think especially coming of age as a young woman, you're so influenced by your mother's story and the choices she made.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Irina Shayk celebrates ‘Thirst day’ in strappy black bikiniThe Russian model flaunted her enviable abs in a totally ripped bikini pic on Sunday.
Read more »
Terry Tempest Williams: I am haunted by what I have seen at Great Salt LakeTerry Tempest Williams: 'Great Salt Lake’s death and the death of the lives she sustains could become our death, too.'
Read more »
Reopening of the historic Salt Lake LDS Temple is again pushed backAnyone who has strolled by downtown’s scaffolding-shrouded Salt Lake Temple may not be surprised by the news that the expected completion date of the iconic building’s massive renovation and seismic upgrade has been pushed back — again.
Read more »
What vital signs will show us that the Great Salt Lake is improving?Utah's record-setting winter has been exciting for both skiers and lawmakers working to revive the ailing Great Salt Lake. Gov. Spencer Cox told reporters in mid-March that lake levels were up 2 feet and they were hopeful for 5 feet more.
Read more »