A riveting, âpsychologically acuteâ (Esquire) portrait of a marriage, from the Man Booker Prizeâlonglisted author of Work Like Any Otherââa deep saturation and beauty of experienceâ (The New Yorker).
Doctor Ed Malinowski believes he has realized most of his dreams. A passionate, ambitious behavioral psychiatrist, he is now the superintendent of a mental institution and finally turning the previously crumbling hospital around. He also has a home he can be proud of and a fiercely independent, artistic wife Laura, whom he hopes will soon be pregnant.
But into this perfect vision of his life comes Penelope, a beautiful, young epileptic who should never have been placed in his institution and whose only chance at getting out is Ed. She is intelligent, charming, and slowly falling in love with her charismatic, compassionate doctor. As their relationship grows more complicated, and Laura defiantly starts working at his hospital, Ed must weigh his professional responsibilities against his personal ones, and find a way to save both his job and his family.
âReeves alternates between Ed and Lauraâs perspectives in cunning ways, creating the rippling effect of a rushing river, as love flows and ebbs over a decadeâ (Entertainment Weekly). A love triangle set in one of the most chaotic settings imaginable, The Behavior of Love is âa sensitive examination of love, responsibility, and compassionâ (Kirkus Reviews).