The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

📜 The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller 📜

A story of summer, secrets, love, and lies: in the course of a singular day on Cape Cod, one woman must make a life-changing decision that has been brewing for decades.

It is a beautiful August morning, and Elle, a fifty-year-old woman who is happily married and a mother of three, wakes up at “The Paper Palace,” their family’s summer retreat that she has visited every summer throughout her life. However, this particular morning feels different. Last night, Elle and her oldest friend Jonas quietly slipped out of the back door into the darkness and had an intimate encounter for the first time, while their respective spouses engaged in conversation inside the house. This unexpected event forces Elle to confront a significant decision over the next twenty-four hours.

Elle must choose between the life she has built with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she had always imagined having with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event hadn’t altered the course of their lives forever. As the author, Heller, delves into the experiences that have shaped Elle’s journey, we witness the complexity of her ultimate decision.

“The Paper Palace” explores the delicate balance between desire and maintaining one’s dignity, the lasting impact of past abuse, and the complex dynamics within families. It presents a tender yet devastating exploration of human emotions and the consequences of choices made in the face of difficult circumstances.

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