Stella Descending

On a warm summer night in Oslo, Martin draws Stella into one of the risky games that have defined their ten years together: a balancing act on the edge of their rooftop, nine stories up.

"Exquisitely written. . . . As hallucinatory as August heat.” –The Washington Post

Amid the shouts of horrified onlookers, Stella stumbles, falling for a moment into Martin’s arms before plummeting to her death. (Did he try to save her?)

So begins Linn Ullmann’s transfixing tale of Stella—jealous wife, forbea...