Still in Love: A Novel [Hardcover]

This hilarious, sometimes harrowing, and ultimately heartening novel is the companion to the critically acclaimed, national bestsellerPerfect Agreement

Beautifully and economically written, and very funny. Linda Wertheimer, NPR

This is your chance to enroll in English 10 at highly rated Hellman Collegeif you can find a place to sit in the fantastically overcrowded classroom.

Mark Sternum, whom readers first met in Downings beloved novelPerfect Agreement, is a veteran teacher. Twenty years older, separated for six months from his longtime lover, and desperate to duck the overtures of double-dealing deans above him and disgruntled adjunct faculty below him, Mark has one ambition every day he is on campusto close the classroom door and leave the world behind. His escape, however, is complicated by his contentious, complicated wrestling match of a relationship with the Professor, the tenured faculty member with whom Mark has co-taught this creative-writing workshop for ten years.

The spectacle of their rigorous, academic relationship is a chance for studentsall of usto learn what an amazing arena the classroom can be. Replete with engaging writing exercises, harsh criticism, and contrarian advice,Still in Loveis the story of one semester in a college classroom. And it is an urgent reminder that we desperately need classrooms, that those singular, sealed-off-from-the-world sanctuaries are where we learn to love our lives.MICHAEL DOWNINGis the author of nine books, including the national bestsellerPerfect Agreement;Breakfast with Scot, which was adapted a feature film;Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center; andSpring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time. A frequent commentator in the national media on Congress and the clocks, he teaches creative writing at Tufts University. Find more at michaeldowningbooks.com.