Loveland - by Susan Ostrov (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This is not your usual memoir - much less a typical love story. Loveland is about the unfolding of unmet expectations, of shattered childhood dreams, of tenderness found unexpectedly; it is the uncovering of different layers of one's self, relationship after relationship. The rationale for understanding the engineering of love, in its infinite nuances, comes through the framework of literature. Books shape our perceptions: their characters set parameters, their stories create paradigms, and we live by them forever. If you're interested in a different vision of happily-ever-after, this is the book for you.

Review Quotes

"With humor and brutal honesty, Loveland (Blackwater Press, 2024) by Susan Ostrov explores romance, aging, and sex, dismantling cultural myths of love. Blending memoir and literary analysis, Ostrov examines desire, marriage, and intimacy, ultimately redefining romance beyond traditional expectations--especially for women in midlife."
--Deborah L. Williams, The Rumpus​

"This memoir is one of the best I've come across... Intelligent, well-informed, and above all good-humored." --Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments: A Memoir

"Poignant and witty, Loveland is a gripping read." --Emma Barry, author of Chick Magnet

"Searching, unsparing, truthful, wry, direct, unstuffily erudite, and amusing." --Pamela Regis, author of A Natural History of the Romance Novel

"This is a special book. I followed along happily and emerged wiser." --Catherine M. Roach, author of Happily Ever After: The Romance Story in Popular Culture

About the Author

Susan Ostrov holds an Ivy League doctoral degree and a long career as a Professor of English. She has previously published four scholarly books on the subject of women and their relationship to romantic love. Combining her expertise in classic romance novels with a personal account of her own experiences as a romantic woman, Loveland is part wry memoir and part serious cultural critique.