First published in 1985, this tale of two women - Monica, a mild-mannered divorcee who is trying to rebuild her life as a teacher in a boys' school in rural Pennsylvania, and Sheila, who is something of a local celebrity, a wild, wilful painter who has bucketloads of artistic vision and absolutely no patience - strikes a climactic note early on and manages to sustain it as their unlikely friendship ebbs and flows from obsession to something approaching enmity. The intensity is astonishing; you beg to be given a breather, but Oates doesn't let up for a second, not until the final sentence - and even then, its distinctly ominous tone makes your heart sink. It's powerful, but it ain't comfortable.
