Defiance A Novel Author:Carole Maso Bernadette O'Brien: misfit...child prodigy...professor of mathematics at Harvard...sentenced to die in the electric chair for the shocking murder of two male students. In her journal, her "death book," Bernadette takes a dark look back at the unfolding events that led to the extraordinary crime for which she was convicted. — In the incandescent, ... more »erotically charged prose for which she is known, Maso probes the depths of a female psyche inextricably embedded in a uniquely American matrix of sexuality, violence, and the clash of class difference. A raw and fearless performance by an author of fierce vision, Defiance stays with readers long after they put the book down.
"Dark-side aesthetiscism washes over you in waves, mixing wild pleasure and brutal fury." --Spin magazine
"Shockingly original...a convincing study of a brilliant yet damaged mind, and a sharp exploration of new extremes of cynicism and darkness." --The Wall Street Journal
"A dark and intelligent festival of the mind, a labyrinth of shattered mirrors." --Village Voice
"Carole Maso...writes with the fury of Jeannette Winterson." --Los Angeles Times
"Startling power...builds to a psychologically astute and emotionally devastating climax." --Out
"A tour de force...Establishes her as one of the very best living novelists." --The Women's Review of Books, Wellesley College« less