My nemesis

Tessa is a successful writer who develops a friendship, first by correspondence and then in person, with Charlie, a ruggedly handsome philosopher and scholar. Sparks fly as they exchange ideas about Camus and masculine desire, and their intellectual connection promises more - but there are obstacles to this burgeoning relationship. While Tessa´s husband Milton enjoys Charlie´s company, Charlie´s wife Wah is a different case, and she proves to be both adversary and conundrum to Tessa. Wah´s traditional femininity and subservience to her husband strike Tessa as weaknesses, and she scoffs at the sacrifices Wah makes as adoptive mother to a Burmese girl, Htet. But Wah has a kind of power too, especially over Charlie, and the conflict between the two women leads to Tessa´s martini-fueled declaration that Wah is ´an insult to womankind.´ As Tessa is forced to deal with the consequences of her outburst, she wonders if Wah is really as weak as she has seemed, or if she might have a different kind of strength altogether. An exercise in empathy, an exploration of betrayal and a charged story of the thrill of a shared connection - and the perils of feminine rivalry - My Nemesis is a brilliantly dramatic and captivating story from a hugely talented writer.