Life with Swan

In this remarkable roman à clef, Paul West transcribes his own life and love with captivating eloquence. Recounting his now quarter-century union with Swan (poet and naturalist Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses) with wit and tenderness, the narrator re-creates their times together and their friendship with Raoul Bunsen-a Carl Sagan-like character. Meeting Bunsen turns out to be one of the most fortunate events of their shared lives, for he fans the couple's passion for all things astronomical.

This is a story about a deep and honest love that burns undaunted, whether suffering the hilarious indignities and excesses of ivy-covered academia or the highs and lows of coming face-to-face with our galaxy. Haunted by astronomy, these literary lovers forge a bond that transcends the divide between art and science.