Mirror Lake - by Thomas Christopher Greene (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Mirror Lake brilliantly explores life, death, love, and loss against the backdrop of rural Vermont and the drama of its seasons.
Nathan Carter, a man in his twenties, moves from Boston to Eden, Vermont, following the death of his father and the end of yet another failed romance. When Carter's Jeep goes off the road in a snowstorm, seventy-nine-year-old Wallace Fiske nurses him back to health and the two become unlikely friends.
Wallace begins to tell Nathan his story, a love story he was prepared to take to the grave with him. It is a tale of passion, of obsession, and ultimately, of tragedy. Along the way, Nathan, suspecting that Wallace is not telling him the whole truth, sets out to discover for himself what happened here at the edge of this small mountain lake fifty years before.
In the process, Nathan not only discovers Wallace's dark secret, but also finds himself transformed by the experience, leading to an unforgettable conclusion.
The novel unfolds between each man's present and past, and reveals the loves and passions that have defined their lives.
Mirror Lake is a brilliant and suspenseful first novel about love, marriage, friendship, and betrayal.

Review Quotes

Bret Lott author of "Jewel" "Mirror Lake" is a taut psychological drama that carried me through from first page to last. Mr. Greene's is a bright new voice in American literature, a voice that can render exquisitely the sharpest truths of the human heart and the finest details of a passing landscape all at once. May many more books follow "Mirror Lake!"

James Lee Burke Thomas Greene's first novel, "Mirror Lake, " is a beautiful piece of writing. The descriptions of New England are haunting, the characters complex -- in some way reflections of all of us. His prose is clean, poetic, and infused with the themes of family, death, loyalty, and romantic love. He writes with Emerson's love of the countryside and James M. Cain's ability to see tragedy at work in the lives of ordinary people. I think we're going to hear a lot more about this very fine novelist.

John Hough, Jr. author of "The Last Summer" "Mirror Lake" is a strong and gentle book about friendship, loneliness, and the transcendent stubbornness of the human heart. A sweet, sad story, full of surprises and resonant of the green mountains and clear waters of Vermont.

Nelson DeMille "Mirror Lake" is an eloquently written tale of two love stories brought together by an unlikely friendship. A stunning accomplishment, "Mirror Lake" reaffirms the true power of love and its resounding ability to transform the human heart. These characters will stay with you a long time. Thomas Greene is a major new voice in American fiction.

Susan Cheever This book gets Vermont just right, with its punishing winters and ravishing summers. Greene's characters, trapped in this powerful landscape, live out a story of love, betrayal, and violence that kept me turning the pages to the end.

About the Author

Thomas Christopher Greene was born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts. He graduated from Hobart College and the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College. He currently lives and works in Vermont. This is his first novel.