About this item
The New York Times bestselling author of Labor Day and After Her returns with a provocative, complex, and relentlessly gripping novel about emotional seduction and betrayal. Under the Influence asks: Where do the boundaries of friendship lie? And at what point does generosity become a form of deadly manipulation? When Helen meets Swift and Ava Havilland at an art gallery opening, her life is at an all-time low. A DUI conviction caused her to lose her driver s license and custody of her eight-year-old son, Oliver. Now she sees Ollie on Saturdays for bowling and laser tag and meals in fast-food restaurants, where his eyes stay glued to the screen of his portable gaming device. He hasn t forgiven his mother for messing up their life. She s got a dead-end job and goes on occasional dates, but spends most evenings at AA meetings. The Havillands change all that. Ava and Swift are wealthy, charismatic philanthropists passionate animal lovers and passionate lovers of each other, it seems. Their art-filled home is the setting for frequent over-the-top parties. Nobody talks about why Ava s in a wheelchair, but her disability doesn t keep her from bestowing kindness on the homeless and the helpless, and devising elaborate save-the-world projects. Though Ava specializes in rescuing dogs, this time she decides to rescue Helen. We re going to give you a life, she announces. The Havillands quickly become the center of Helen s world, as she takes on jobs for them and joins their glamorous inner circle dressing in Ava s hand-me-downs, entertaining the couple with stories of disastrous dates, cataloging their art collection, sharing meals and increasingly intimate confidences. Then Helen meets Elliot a quiet, uncool accountant the Havillands dismiss as boring. Helen might be falling in love with him, but her new best friends disapprove and cause Helen to distrust her own heart. Most compelling, for Helen, is what her friendship with the Havillands has meant to her relationship with her son. Ollie has fallen under Swift s spell; the lonely boy looks up to the larger-than-life man who treats him like a second son. And Swift has promised Helen the services of a high-powered attorney to help her regain custody. Then tragedy strikes: Ollie witnesses a devastating accident at the Havillands lake house. Now Helen and Ollie must pay up for the generosity of Helen s new friends. Or pay dearly if they refuse. Praise for Joyce MaynardUnder the Influence Tantalizing and seductive. . . . A story about the pull of consuming friendships, of seeking to escape into the lives of others, of possession and illusion. . . . Utterly captivating. Megan Abbott, Edgar Award winning author of Dare Me andThe FeverAfter Her A deeply moving novel that sheds necessary light on that sometimes tenuous yet fiercely enduring love between daughters and fathers. ANDRE DUBUS IIIThe Good Daughters Maynard s spare prose packs a rich emotional punch. . . . A can t-put-it-down mystery. PeopleLabor Day Labor Day is a sexy, page-turning, poignant story told by a sweetly baffled young hero, perhaps the best kind of hero to narrate any tale. JANE HAMILTON, author of Laura Rider s Masterpiece and A Map of the World"
About the Author
A native of New Hampshire, Joyce Maynard began publishing her stories in magazines when she was thirteen years old. She first came to national attention with the publication of her New York Times cover story, "An Eighteen Year Old Looks Back on Life", in 1972, when she was a freshman at Yale. Since then, she has been a reporter and columnist for The New York Times, a syndicated newspaper columnist whose "Domestic Affairs" column appeared in over fifty papers nationwide, a regular contributor to NPR and national magazines including Vogue, The New York Times Magazine, and many more, and a longtime performer with The Moth. Maynard is the author of seventeen books, including the novel To Die For and the best-selling memoir, At Home in the World - translated into sixteen languages. Her novel, To Die For was adapted for the screen by Buck Henry for a film directed by Gus Van Sant , in which Joyce can be seen in the role of Nicole Kidman's lawyer.. Her novel Labor Day was adapted and directed by Jason Reitman for a film starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, to whom Joyce offered instruction for making the pie that appeared in a crucial scene in the film. The mother of three grown children, Maynard runs workshops in memoir at her home in Lafayette California. In 2002 she founded The Lake Atitlan Writing Workshop in San Marcos La Laguna, Guatemala, where she hosts a weeklong workshop in personal storytelling every winter. She is a fellow of The MacDowell Colony and Yaddo.
