Excerpt from The Love Object by Edna O'Brien, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"Oh, lots of jolly things," she says, and the lie has for her, as well as for him, all the sweetness and freshness of truth. For the remainder of the vacation they will behave as if nothing has happened, but of course, something has. They have each looked into the abyss and drawn back, frightened of the primitive forces that lurk there.

"Tomorrow . . ." he says and smiles his old smile.

"Tomorrow . . ." she says, as if there was no storm, no rift, as if the sea outside was a cradle lulling the world to a sweet, guileless sleep.

Excerpted from The Love Object by Edna O'Brien. Copyright © 2015 by Edna O'Brien. Reprinted with permission of Little, Brown and Company.