Like a House on Fire

Returning to architecture is supposed to give Merit something of her own again. Twelve years into marriage and raising two sons, she has begun to lose sight of the person she was before family life took over. At her new firm, Jane offers more than a professional opportunity: she takes Merit seriously, challenges her and becomes a friend whose presence changes the shape of her days. As their connection deepens, Merit must reconsider assumptions about desire, commitment and the future she thought was settled. Set around the competing demands of work and motherhood, Lauren McBrayer’s novel follows a woman confronting a possibility she never planned for: the person she wants to build a life with might be another woman.