Blood: A Novel

By Patricia Traxler

Book Overview

From talented newcomer Patricia Traxler comes a brilliant literary suspense novel about how desire can become jealousy, obsession, and finally murderous rage. Blood is equal parts auspicious literary debut, pageturner, and erotic novel about four people whose lives become irrevocably intertwined during one year at Radcliffe College. The narrator, Norrie Blume, is a painter who has accepted a prestigious fellowship at the college; she's excited to leave her job as a commercial graphic designer and take up the artist's life. But she's also in the middle of an intense love affair with a married colleague, an affair that is threatening to consume both their lives. At Radcliffe, Norrie develops friendships with two other fellows, a journalist and a poet. One is deep, comforting; the other ruled by need and guilt. These three intense relationships quickly begin to infringe upon each other, and soon the four of them seem to be hurtling toward some shocking-and perhaps tragic-end. Blood is a triumph of suspense writing, a true psychological thriller about the nature of desire and the danger of love.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031227484X
• ISBN13: 9780312274849
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 1.2" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Beautifully written! A book all young women should read!

I actually picked this book up at a thrift store the cover caught my eye. I loved that I felt all the emotions of the character, espeacilly when Devi and Norrie talked with one another about their passions. I felt connected to these women on a diffrent level its very in depth and I was surprised out how fast the story picked up threw the book it didnt drag wich caused me to keep turning pages reading threw out the whole day and late at night. I read it in 2 days.

Surprisingly good!

I bought this book on a whim, something I rarely do. I picked it up and flipped through the pages, and something about the dialogue and tone of the author's voice caught me, so I figured what the heck? I am so glad I did - this book was one I found I could hardly put down. There were several times when the cleverness of the dialogue made me laugh out loud, and other times the descriptions of emotions made me want to weep. Being an artist myself (music and photography), I could thoroughly appreciate Norrie's struggle to be creative, how panicked she felt at the thought of that creativity deserting her and how obsessed she was once it got hold of her again. There may have been some loose ends here and there, but I'm not a book critic - I just know this particular story spoke to my heart in a way that hasn't been done in a long time, and I hope Ms. Traxler graces us with more books before too long.

Compelling portrait of art, friendship, and Radcliffe

I was very moved by this book, in spite of some elements that I found to be rather lacking in depth or thought. Although the novel is touted for its eroticism, and is brave in its depiction of the liberties and dangers that go along with intimate, 'forbidden' sex, the protagonist's (Honora) romantic liaison was the least interesting aspect for this reader. We've seen this before: married artistic man + intelligent and passionate lover = disappointment. But what we haven't seen at all enough of, and what _Blood_ so compellingly explores, is the profound possibility that opens up when women artists push the boundaries of friendship.Traxler's beautiful portrayal of Devi, cultured and brilliant Indian poet, is extraodrinarily fine. The growing friendship and the creative inspiration between Honora and Devi is marvelous, really well done and quite believable. So all that goes along with it, and the pain of loss that is at the heart of this novel, is especially difficult to read. Honora's paintings of Devi, and the decisions she must make about their exhbition, are extremely well-rendered.At the book's end I was surprised by the message its conclusion conveys, seemingly in spite of itself: love is to be trusted, as is art, but it is friendship (particularly that between women), not romantic/sexual love, which ultimately provides a kind of salvation. I'm not at all confident that this was the author's intention, but it was more than good enough for me. The book also serves as a kind of memorial to Radcliffe's Bunting Fellowships (here referred to as "Larkins"), which still exist but are now open to men and thus have been changed utterly. Traxler, the one-time recipient of a Bunting, is sensitive in her appreciation and questioning of the exclusivity of the program. Honora's initial skepticism about 'sisterhood' and eventual, earned reliance on and trust in the all-female program make this a sort of elegy for one of the VERY few fellowship programs in the country that, up until recently, so actively supported the work of women scholar and artists.One caveat: the character sketch of Clara, possesive and unhinged South American quasi-lesbian, is rather difficult to take. The broad strokes Traxler uses here, as if to provide a counter-model of the dangers of female love and friendship, are in contrast to her fine detail and emotional richness elsewhere. She seems out of her depth here.

A n unusual but fascinating mystery

From the very first page there is a foreshadowing of blood and tragedy, but thirty-five years old Norrie is the happiest she?s been in her life. She is thrilled to have been awarded the Larkin Fellowship at Radcliff where they pay her for one year to paint in a studio of her own and relocate her to an apartment in Harvard Housing where she intends to do the brunt of her painting. Her lover, Michael, an accomplished writer, is married but he seems ready to leave his wife and children for her. Having her own apartment, (her last one she shared with a roommate) allows Norrie and Michael to spend a lot of quality time together there. The only fly in the ointment is Clara, Norrie?s next door neighbor, whose possessiveness turns Norrie against her. When one of the Larkies who happens to be Norrie?s best friend is murdered, everyone on campus thinks Clara did it even though there is no evidence linking her to the crime. BLOOD is an erotic, dark and foreboding work that is more about different relationships than a typical murder mystery. The first person narrative makes the action up close and personal while allowing the audience an insightful view into Norrie?s thought processes. The action, though there?s not a lot of it, is pivotal to the story line. Patricia Traxler is a very talented writer who exposes the dark side of the human psyche to the audience. Harriet Klausner