A Woman, In Bed

"[T]he book's originality, and its boldness, makes it impossible to turn away. Ambitious and demanding; one of a kind."

Anne Finger's story of a twentieth-century woman's lifelong journey toward owning all of herself, including her illness, will appeal to readers of character-focused, highly detailed historical fiction."Between world wars on the Côte d'Azur, young mother Simone meets a handsome stranger, a boarder at her family's inn, just when her husband's absence has become unbearable. A veteran of the Great War, a writer and academic, and a married father, Jacques thrills Simone with his superior intelligence and studied detachment. After Simone divorces and flees to Paris with her two children, securing her fate as Jacques' mistress and, eventually, his wife requires patience. Moving through Simone's activities working for the French Resistance in WWII and in many erotic affairs, the novel spans decades. By the time of the 1968 uprisings, Simone's body has, it seems, begun to betray her. Initially written off as nervousness brought on by her son's forced service in the war, Parkinson's disease unpredictably takes hold of her movements and mind. Constantly foreshadowing events to come, Finger's story of a twentieth-century woman's lifelong journey toward owning all of herself, including her illness, will appeal to readers of character-focused, highly detailed historical fiction."--Annie Bostrom Visit Website

"A Woman in Bed transcends any attempt to confine it to a sub-genre. It is probably beyond dispute that a reader with a woman's body is going to come away with the greatest appreciation for the novel. Still, the book has a great deal to say to any reader."--Michael Northen