A Celibate Season - Softcover

Shields, Carol; Howard, Blanche

3.56

458 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140275118 ISBN 13: 9780140275117

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1999

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For Jocelyn and Charles, the demands of family and career mean a ten-month separation, during which they decide to communicate with one another by writing letters. Each finds this intimate and exhilarating, as they are able to reveal things that would never be spoken aloud. Yet as the months pass, their letters depict two very distinct views of their time apart and of their marriage. As the separation begins to unravel the threads that bind their marriage together, we bear witness to the evolution and eventually the breakdown of communication. For their "season of celibacy," as they originally joked, is proving to be more of a challenge than either had ever imagined, one that tests the strength of their marriage and their commitment to one another.

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From the Inside Flap:

Originally published in 1991, this remarkable collaboration came about when Carol Shields and her friend Blanche Howard decided to tell two sides of the same story. Carol wrote the man's version and Blanche the woman's.

A Celibate Season is the story of what happens when Jocelyn and Charles, who have been married for years, are faced with a possible ten-month separation. In order to economize, they choose to write to each other rather than use the telephone. Through their letters, we follow the evolution and eventually the breakdown of communication. As the months progress, we begin to see two very distinct views of this time apart. Their "season of celibacy," as they initially joked, is proving to be more of a challenge than either had imagined and tests the strength and commitment of their marriage.

From the Back Cover:

"A Celibate Season is intelligent, subtle, symmetrical; like all our favourite seasons, it passes by all too quickly." -Quill & Quire

"Great fun-- This is accomplished light entertainment from two serious writers. Beneath its polished surface lurks a reactionary fable." -The Montreal Gazette

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