The marriages of desire . . .
From the multitalented and versatile Gloria Vanderbilt comes a passionate, sensual, witty, and puzzling tale of erotic obsession, beauty, and revenge, told in tandem by two women obsessed with the same man—and, ultimately, with each other.
Talbot Bingham is a renowned architectural genius who, with his formidable wife, Priscilla, creates an architectural community. When he dies unexpectedly in the middle of their tenth wedding anniversary celebration, the devastated Priscilla is left keeper of the flame of Talbot's genius. Going through her husband's archives, she comes unexpectedly upon a pile of neatly tied letters, and the shocking secret of her husband's intimate life—a discovery that shatters the foundation of her soul and spirit.
Obsession explores the mysteries of the human heart and the nature of sexuality and obsession, provoking questions about whom we choose to love, and why. The reader is left to decide if the other woman represents another facet of Priscilla, or if Priscilla her-self has invented the other woman who completed the world her husband so recently inhabited?
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"I do not read much erotic books but I won the book so....I have to say I liked it. I did not expect Gloria Vanderbilt to write such a book but as for this book she did it with class. Thumbs up "
— Cynthia (4 out of 5 stars)
“In her new novel, Gloria Vanderbilt has created a remarkable tapestry of human passion—an interior world of highly charged erotic mysteries that teasingly suggest, but ever elude, decoding, Obsession is a poetic tale on the nature of possession and obsession.”
— Joyce Carol Oates“The two women become consumed by their vicious power struggle, an over-the-top contest that will keep readers seeking escape from reality avidly turning the pages of this made-for-the-beach (or any other venue for relaxation) tale of sex and duplicity.”
— Booklist“Leave it to Gloria Vanderbilt to design a sensual novel for the material girl…Her language carries freewheeling floridity to lurid and sometimes hilarious extremes.”
— USA Today" Very light on plot. Lots of erotic fantasy scenes strung together. It still counts toward my reading goal. "
— Stefanie, 1/12/2014" This was not a bad read, but not a great one either. The language was florid, the sex scenes interesting but not original, the plot a bit plodding. It picked up toward the end, but the conclusion was terribly unsatisfying. "
— Amber, 1/7/2014" This book is full of really vivid descriptions, and because of this the romantic scenes are REALLY explicit. Not exactly my kind of book, but it is based around an interesting plot dynamic. "
— Veronica, 12/28/2013" Wow. That was awful. I only read 5 pages and knew it was awful and I should have stopped after that, but then I skimmed it to see if there were any good sexy bits, as it was an "erotic tale", but it sucked. And not the good "erotic tale" kind of suck. "
— Sarah, 12/17/2013" nasty book by a nasty old lady. "
— Janet, 12/12/2013" Significantly not as described. "
— Katie, 12/11/2013" are there awards for worst book ever? if so this is a real contender. While I did enjoy finding out what someone of this age may find erotic, I couldn't help but imagine her giggling while she typed away te he he. The best thing I can say about this book is that it was short. "
— Emily, 12/8/2013" awful. I've read better erotica in Hustler "
— Monica, 9/20/2013" I kept remembering that I was reading something written by Anderson Cooper's 80-something mother and that was a little unnerving to me. Not horrible; not great. "
— Patricia, 8/13/2013" Pretty boring. I wanted to read it after a review in a magazine, after all this is Anderson Cooper's mom. I found it dull. "
— Shelli, 7/15/2013" The initial premise - whether or not a widow is imagining a mistress for her deceased lover - makes a unique psychological selling point. The book sadly degenerates into erotic fantasy and fails to deliver on the opening concept. "
— M, 4/9/2013" Overwrought "
— Karmen, 2/13/2013" Eerie yet enchanting with lush descriptions that are sensual to read all on their own merits. "
— Irina, 1/24/2013" was okay. A little confusing as to who was "narrating". And the ending was kinda dumb. "
— Kristin, 11/15/2012" Very racy! "
— Anna, 3/6/2012" Im not sure what everyone in the reviews are complaining about. What were they expecting with a title that flat out states An Erotic Tale? It is what it is, an explicit little triffle that is short on story but heavy on sex. "
— Liz, 2/23/2012" Pure drivel. Unresolved, unsatisfactory ending. "
— Marion, 9/3/2011" Awful. It has a fragmented story, a undeveloped main man and a naive leading lady. Also, the author needs to look up what "Erotic" means. What I read was bland and at times disgusting, skimming over erotic and going for explicit. Not a good read. "
— Kokod, 11/23/2010" Oh my goodness! Very colourful book to say the least.. good book actually!! "
— Jen, 10/30/2010" Im not sure what everyone in the reviews are complaining about. What were they expecting with a title that flat out states An Erotic Tale? It is what it is, an explicit little triffle that is short on story but heavy on sex. "
— Liz, 6/14/2010" are there awards for worst book ever? if so this is a real contender. While I did enjoy finding out what someone of this age may find erotic, I couldn't help but imagine her giggling while she typed away te he he. The best thing I can say about this book is that it was short. "
— Emily, 2/13/2010" was okay. A little confusing as to who was "narrating". And the ending was kinda dumb. "
— Kristin, 11/14/2009" This was not a bad read, but not a great one either. The language was florid, the sex scenes interesting but not original, the plot a bit plodding. It picked up toward the end, but the conclusion was terribly unsatisfying. "
— Amber, 11/9/2009" nasty book by a nasty old lady. "
— Janet, 9/4/2009" Pretty boring. I wanted to read it after a review in a magazine, after all this is Anderson Cooper's mom. I found it dull. "
— Shelli, 7/22/2009" This book is full of really vivid descriptions, and because of this the romantic scenes are REALLY explicit. Not exactly my kind of book, but it is based around an interesting plot dynamic. "
— Veronica, 7/18/2009" Pure drivel. Unresolved, unsatisfactory ending. "
— Marion, 7/13/2009Gloria Vanderbilt is the author of four memoirs and two novels. She contributes to various publications, including the New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Elle, and she has received two honorary Doctorates of Fine Arts. She lives in New York City.