New York Times best-selling crime fiction writer, William Bayer, breaks new ground with this novel, a coming-of-age/psychological mystery.
Hiding in the Weave, written from the perspective of18 year old Joel Barlev, a senior at Delamere, a school geared to talented young artists, plays off themes typically found in classic boarding school novels (like….)—requited and unrequited romantic relationships, alienation, rebellion, sexuality, troubled home lives, moral dilemmas, epiphanies and acquiring maturity.
But there is more here . . . much more . . .
“What cannot be spoken shall be danced. What cannot be danced shall be woven. And what cannot be woven shall be marked upon the flesh.”
That’s the strange mantra of Liv Anders, a gifted dancer and weaver at Delamere. Joel, an equally gifted ceramic artist, finds himself falling in love with her, as intrigued by her mantra as by her casual comment regarding their different art forms: “You gouge your pots to show your pain to the world. I hide my pain in the weave.”
It turns out there is something hidden in one of Liv’s abstract weavings, and when tragedy strikes, Joel and his two best friends, Justin and Kate, feel compelled to uncover it.
The novel follows the four from the start of their senior year at Delamere through graduation and a little beyond.
Hiding in the Weave is a novel for adults about the strivings of youth. . . love, passion, art, art-making, growing up and letting go. It takes the traditional coming-of-age boarding school novel into fascinating new territory
EARLY PRAISE FOR HIDING IN THE WEAVE:
"Hiding in the Weave is an extraordinary novel, one that rings true not merely about the teenage, prep-school protagonists, but about the process and the art of growing up. It has many of the finer qualities of a well-crafted thriller or a mind-bending mystery -- it is puzzling, exciting, filled with tension and demands that each page be rapidly turned. But linked to that are meditations on the relationship between youth and art, and the exquisite excitement of learning. It is a most remarkable book, and one that both entices and educates on every page." –John Katzenbach ("The Mean Season," "Hart's War")
"William Bayer weaves genres like a master to create HIDING THE WEAVE, a unique and imaginative tapestry of crime fiction, coming of age sagas, and fine arts revelation. A bold new direction from one of our more literate, realistic authors." - James Grady ("Six Days of the Condor," "Mad Dogs")
"Set in a vividly described prep school, the kind of place that is impressed with its ability to impress, William Bayer's Hiding In The Weave offers a lively cast of students, teachers, administrators, some noble, some predatory. His novel is thoughtful, poignant and, most important. consistently engaging." - P.F. Kluge ("Eddie & The Cruisers," "Alma-Mater," "Final Exam")
