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Solstice
Not yet published
Expected 4 Aug 26A brilliant but restless dancer discovers the true meaning of love and intimacy through the ebbs and flows of her marriage in this exquisitely written novel—from the bestselling author and psychologist whose feminist classic, In a Different Voice, revolutionized our understanding of women’s lives
Boston, 1969. Eve, a dancer whose feelings are expressed through the body and movement, senses an inexplicable distance growing between herself and her husband, Gabe, a journalist and father of her two children. Feeling lost and alone, she begins an affair; Gabe detects it immediately and begins one himself. Yet somehow they find their way back to each other, and when Eve gives birth to a daughter, their marriage becomes vital again.
Years later, when Gabe returns from a reporting trip to the Middle East and Berlin, Eve again perceives something is wrong in her marriage. Gabe no longer seems like the man she once knew. He has always had a darkness she could not fathom—deep psychological scars from his childhood, when Gabe escaped Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport.
Amsterdam, 1991. Newly separated from Gabe, Eve has accepted a fellowship to choreograph a dance inspired by the story of Adam and Eve. When a colleague introduces her to a new translation of the ancient text, Eve begins to redefine the way she thinks about women, men, and relationships—and, perhaps, to see another path back to her marriage.
In this emotionally riveting novel, Carol Gilligan draws on her unsurpassed psychological understanding of women's lives to explore a new vision of love and intimacy. Sweeping across decades and continents, attuned to the rhythms of life and time, Solstice is a provocative and profound portrait of what it takes to truly love another.
Boston, 1969. Eve, a dancer whose feelings are expressed through the body and movement, senses an inexplicable distance growing between herself and her husband, Gabe, a journalist and father of her two children. Feeling lost and alone, she begins an affair; Gabe detects it immediately and begins one himself. Yet somehow they find their way back to each other, and when Eve gives birth to a daughter, their marriage becomes vital again.
Years later, when Gabe returns from a reporting trip to the Middle East and Berlin, Eve again perceives something is wrong in her marriage. Gabe no longer seems like the man she once knew. He has always had a darkness she could not fathom—deep psychological scars from his childhood, when Gabe escaped Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport.
Amsterdam, 1991. Newly separated from Gabe, Eve has accepted a fellowship to choreograph a dance inspired by the story of Adam and Eve. When a colleague introduces her to a new translation of the ancient text, Eve begins to redefine the way she thinks about women, men, and relationships—and, perhaps, to see another path back to her marriage.
In this emotionally riveting novel, Carol Gilligan draws on her unsurpassed psychological understanding of women's lives to explore a new vision of love and intimacy. Sweeping across decades and continents, attuned to the rhythms of life and time, Solstice is a provocative and profound portrait of what it takes to truly love another.
- GenresFiction
336 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication August 4, 2026
About the author
Carol Gilligan
53 books223 followersCarol Gilligan is an American feminist, ethicist, and psychologist best known for her work on ethical community and ethical relationships.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Review - Solstice by Carol Gilligan review by Shirley W. 4-11-26
Interesting story over about a 30-year period of a female ballet dancer named Eve and her journalist husband Gabe. Eve has an affair after several years of marriage with Gabe, a journalist with whom she has two boys. He immediately notices a difference and starts an affair also. They are estranged for a time, but when Eve has their daughter, they emotionally come back to each other.
When Gabe returns from an assignment in Berlin and the Middle East, Eve detects some kind of darkness Gabe carries. With discussion Eve learns Gabe had been sent from Nazi Germany on a Kindertransport as a young child, away from his father who he never saw again. It had been a traumatizing experience for young Gabe. He also confesses his affair.
After separating from Gabe, Eve finds herself in Amsterdam, choreographing a new dance from the story of Adam and Eve. She gains a different perspective about marriage and love which brings her a better understanding of the things that are important to her and Gabe.
Every marriage is a meshing of different upbringings and personal challenges and goals. It is an ongoing enlightenment and communication to understanding what makes two people truly love each other.
Author, Carol Gilligan has a unique understanding as a female psychologist of human attachments. I enjoyed the insightful story she created in her novel Solstice.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary, advance copy of this book. The review is my voluntary and honest opinion.
Interesting story over about a 30-year period of a female ballet dancer named Eve and her journalist husband Gabe. Eve has an affair after several years of marriage with Gabe, a journalist with whom she has two boys. He immediately notices a difference and starts an affair also. They are estranged for a time, but when Eve has their daughter, they emotionally come back to each other.
When Gabe returns from an assignment in Berlin and the Middle East, Eve detects some kind of darkness Gabe carries. With discussion Eve learns Gabe had been sent from Nazi Germany on a Kindertransport as a young child, away from his father who he never saw again. It had been a traumatizing experience for young Gabe. He also confesses his affair.
After separating from Gabe, Eve finds herself in Amsterdam, choreographing a new dance from the story of Adam and Eve. She gains a different perspective about marriage and love which brings her a better understanding of the things that are important to her and Gabe.
Every marriage is a meshing of different upbringings and personal challenges and goals. It is an ongoing enlightenment and communication to understanding what makes two people truly love each other.
Author, Carol Gilligan has a unique understanding as a female psychologist of human attachments. I enjoyed the insightful story she created in her novel Solstice.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary, advance copy of this book. The review is my voluntary and honest opinion.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I typically appreciate books that explore affairs, infidelity, and the complicated questions surrounding why people betray one another and how those choices ripple through a family. On paper, this should have been a great fit for me.
Carol Gilligan tackles marriage, betrayal, forgiveness, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves about love. There is a great deal of thoughtfulness here, and I can see why many readers will find the novel rich and rewarding. However, I struggled to fully connect with it. The writing style took some time for me to adjust to, and much of the reading experience felt more like studying a text for a class discussion than becoming immersed in a story. The novel is layered with symbolism, metaphor, and larger social and historical parallels, which I appreciated intellectually, but they often kept me at an emotional distance from the characters.
I admired what the book was trying to do more than I enjoyed reading it. Readers who enjoy literary fiction that invites analysis and reflection will likely find much to discuss here. Unfortunately, I never became deeply invested in Eve and Gabe’s relationship, which made it difficult for the story’s emotional moments to land as strongly as I had hoped.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.
Carol Gilligan tackles marriage, betrayal, forgiveness, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves about love. There is a great deal of thoughtfulness here, and I can see why many readers will find the novel rich and rewarding. However, I struggled to fully connect with it. The writing style took some time for me to adjust to, and much of the reading experience felt more like studying a text for a class discussion than becoming immersed in a story. The novel is layered with symbolism, metaphor, and larger social and historical parallels, which I appreciated intellectually, but they often kept me at an emotional distance from the characters.
I admired what the book was trying to do more than I enjoyed reading it. Readers who enjoy literary fiction that invites analysis and reflection will likely find much to discuss here. Unfortunately, I never became deeply invested in Eve and Gabe’s relationship, which made it difficult for the story’s emotional moments to land as strongly as I had hoped.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.
April 10, 2026
Solstice is a gripping overview of a marriage, set against the background of the US, Europe, and the Middle East in the 1980s and 1990s, and also through the eyes of a main character, who survived WWII, through the actions of kindertransport. Its plot moves through the imagery of the different solstices that occur throughout the seasonal year, giving structure to a complex tale. The political issues of the times are brought forth and examined through the lenses of her characters. Gilligan gives us a sensitive and urgent novel, outlining themes and ideas through situational decisions.
Gilligan presents her main character, Eve, a dancer, in a highly original way. Where other authors often present dancers through their looks or precision of movement or taste, Gilligan does something quite different, and allows us inside Eve, showing her motivation to move in a way that rings totally true.
I thoroughly enjoyed the complexity of this work and Gilligan's subtlety in slowly showing us the world of her characters, including its many themes, such as the concept of home, exploring all its ramifications.
Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Gilligan presents her main character, Eve, a dancer, in a highly original way. Where other authors often present dancers through their looks or precision of movement or taste, Gilligan does something quite different, and allows us inside Eve, showing her motivation to move in a way that rings totally true.
I thoroughly enjoyed the complexity of this work and Gilligan's subtlety in slowly showing us the world of her characters, including its many themes, such as the concept of home, exploring all its ramifications.
Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.
I enjoyed this tale of Eve and Gabe's up-and-down marriage/relationship, but I clearly wasn't the intended audience. I read the words, felt some the feelings, but never really was able to get inside my heart and brain to make the story resonate with me.
I did appreciate using the creation story of Adam and Eve in character Eve's dance performance as a metaphor for the couple's relationship, but that didn't occur until 2/3 of the way through the story. The Palestinian/Israeli conflict also weighs heavily here. Fair warning.
The couple's children were extras to the story -- I thought they could have played a larger role.
Covering over three decades of a relationship, this story was told with care about complex and sensitive issues.
Would I read more from the author? Yes.
I received a complimentary e-copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.
I enjoyed this tale of Eve and Gabe's up-and-down marriage/relationship, but I clearly wasn't the intended audience. I read the words, felt some the feelings, but never really was able to get inside my heart and brain to make the story resonate with me.
I did appreciate using the creation story of Adam and Eve in character Eve's dance performance as a metaphor for the couple's relationship, but that didn't occur until 2/3 of the way through the story. The Palestinian/Israeli conflict also weighs heavily here. Fair warning.
The couple's children were extras to the story -- I thought they could have played a larger role.
Covering over three decades of a relationship, this story was told with care about complex and sensitive issues.
Would I read more from the author? Yes.
I received a complimentary e-copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.
May 11, 2026
4.0. I received the ARC of this book from NetGalley and am reviewing it with gratitude.
As a long-time fan of Carol Gilligan I was eager to review her work as a novelist. She did not disappoint. Her knowledge of gender typology and issues is evident throughout the novel. The book describes one woman’s journey through a 30 year marriage. Gilligan used this setting to deeply explore the mental and emotional journeys of her protagonist Eve and her husband Gabe. Themes of love, betrayal, self and partner awareness, family, home, body expression, differences in perception and understanding, and the importance of opposition in a loving relationship are all thoughtfully and skillfully
explored. The book is provocative as is typical in all of Gilligan ‘s work. Worthy of a second read. Recommend it for thoughtful readers.
As a long-time fan of Carol Gilligan I was eager to review her work as a novelist. She did not disappoint. Her knowledge of gender typology and issues is evident throughout the novel. The book describes one woman’s journey through a 30 year marriage. Gilligan used this setting to deeply explore the mental and emotional journeys of her protagonist Eve and her husband Gabe. Themes of love, betrayal, self and partner awareness, family, home, body expression, differences in perception and understanding, and the importance of opposition in a loving relationship are all thoughtfully and skillfully
explored. The book is provocative as is typical in all of Gilligan ‘s work. Worthy of a second read. Recommend it for thoughtful readers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
2.5. I had mixed feelings about Solstice. The premise of following a marriage across decades was interesting. However, the cheating trope really didn't work for me. It annoyed me more than it added to the story, and I found it a little hard to root for the couple after that. I also wasn't convinced that weaving in the conflict was a good choice. It felt like an uneven subplot that distracted from Eve and Gabe's relationship rather than deepening iti don't really like this in my book. The parallels were ambitious but didn't land for me. This is a thoughtful literary novel with some strong moments, but the elements that bothered me kept me from fully enjoying it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was swept away but this story and the way it spans several decades. Eve is a relatable and wonderful main character. Her struggles with an affair, her marriage, and motherhood were so raw and real. Her on and off with Gabe was so real and the changes in Gabe over time were such an important path to go down in the book. As a woman - I so enjoyed the way Eve begins thinking of women and men, it was very empowering. I love that this relationship they have is raw and real and not just fictional rainbows and butterflies. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What I liked the most about this story is the use of art to portray the ups and downs of a marriage. Eve and Gabe loving and hurting each other, and trying to make sense of what it means for them and their family felt very realistic and vulnerable.
This a must-read if you like stories about complex relationships and how people work through their conflicts in non-conventional ways.
Thank you to Random House and the author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
This a must-read if you like stories about complex relationships and how people work through their conflicts in non-conventional ways.
Thank you to Random House and the author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.
I received this ARC because I enjoyed Strangers by Belle Burden so much. This one was also a woman in crisis, dealing with affairs, motherhood, and aging. I am definitely enjoying reading these women’s stories.
I received this ARC because I enjoyed Strangers by Belle Burden so much. This one was also a woman in crisis, dealing with affairs, motherhood, and aging. I am definitely enjoying reading these women’s stories.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book felt so intimate and raw in a way that stayed with me. It’s not dramatic, every emotional shift felt so touching and real. The writing was really good and powerful.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews