Sub Rosa - Dara Lebrun

Dahlia and Saul have hidden their love because he’s a married father of three. After six years of hot trysts, Saul must come to terms with his dual life while Dahlia, as the single paramour, confronts her surprising ambivalence about sharing a future with him. As they struggle for resolve, two other relationships mirror their quest for a happy ending—the troubled marriage of Dahlia’s sister, and a joyful but secret bond between two women. Then, life itself takes a side-step and passion is put to the toughest test. *************************************

“In this complicated, uncompromising novel, Dara Lebrun explores the things we do in ‘secret.’ A rich quilt work of overheard conversations, diary entries, and texts, Sub Rosa’s prose is as fluid and translucent as the characters it describes; but the writer’s technique never distracts from the painful affair at the heart of this wonderful second novel.”  —Seth Kanor, author of Indian Leap *************************************

“Sub Rosa chronicles the ecstatic highs and devastating lows of a love affair with a married man. Dahlia and Saul, along with their colorful, quirky friends and family members, grapple memorably with the conflict between commitment and romantic fulfillment—or what poet Denise Levertov called ‘the erotic conundrum.’”  —Sonia Pilcer, author of The Holocaust Kid, I-Land, Teen Angel, Little Darlings, Maiden Rites, The Last Hotel