Bitterfeld

Name: Bitterfeld
Author: L.L. Seneca

163 pages

Carver Novack has spent eighteen years trying to forget about Scott McCaffrey.
He built a hotshot career in private equity. He married a woman who’s just as ambitious as he is, and way more ruthless. He could have run away with the free-spirited Scott the summer after high school — and he wanted to. Instead, he went to Duke and became the man he thought could finally win over his cold WASP parents. They’ve always favored his siblings over him, and despite his best efforts, they still do.

Now Carver is 36, and wildly successful at everything except pretending not to be miserable.
Then an invitation arrives: Carver and his wife Lillian are expected in his hometown of Bitterfeld in Westchester County for his cousin Letty’s lesbian wedding.
Even worse, Letty’s called in a decades-long favor: Scott, now a moderately successful rock guitarist, is providing the music.

Half a lifetime ago, Carver and Scott parted on bad terms. At first they orbit each other with raw tension, but it doesn’t take long for them to start remembering what they had together. And Scott has some questions, like: “Why didn’t you come with me to California?” and “Do you regret that decision the way I do?”
As the weekend drags on, Carver finds himself desperate to make all the wrong choices. Lillian, who’s not only his wife but also his business partner, starts wondering exactly what his problem is. At the same time, old tensions in Carver’s dysfunctionally repressive family are coming to a head. It turns out he has more common ground with his siblings, and more reasons to resent his parents, than he ever knew.

A sharply satirical but deeply felt novel about desire, authenticity, time, and regret. When is it too late to admit the truth? For readers who love second chance romance, repressed WASPs, and unhinged but lovable brats.

Start Reading Page List Review