Loverboy by Victoria Redel (Harvest, $14). A mother loves her young son so much it almost kills her. Obsessed and gripped by the extraordinary devotion she feels for her child, the nameless mother goes to all lengths to insulate her “Loverboy” from the realities of the world. The prose in this 2001 novel is stunning and ethereal; it operates with a nervous system all its own.
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