In The Red

When Irina - Romanian by birth but brought up by American parents who have never understood her - arrives at college she quickly abandons ordinary student life for an affair with an older, mysterious Romanian man named Andrei.

Andrei awakens a powerful sensuality in Irina. And he has money - lots of it. Irina is free. But the longer she stays with Andrei, the more she is certain that she can't leave, and that may be complicit in Andrei's work - whatever that 'work' might be. Then an unexpected friendship with a young Romanian bride opens the door to escape, and also revenge.

“Praise for In the Red”

"In the Red has all the elements that make for a down-the-rabbit-hole story: it's exotic, dangerous, deviant, delicious. But this is also essential reading about sex and identity--how trauma informs first loves and relationships open old wounds. Shapiro understands the balance sheet of power between men and women better than any other writer out there. In the Red deserves a place beside Colette and Anaïs Nin on every woman's bookshelf."--Koren Zailckas, author of Mother, Mother and Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood
"In The Red is an absolutely dazzling book, a nuanced and haunting meditation on morality, love, crime, and belonging. In a word, this book is brilliant."--Emily St. John Mandel, author of The Lola Quartet and Singer's Gun
"A sophisticated character study... Shapiro's deft leaps forward in time and frequent use of eerie Romanian folk tales help make this dark story a multilayered literary treat."
--Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Shapiro has written a deeply dark yet strangely uplifting second novel, about a woman beginning to find herself, discovering her own power and the tools to make use of it."--Booklist
"Shapiro...blends elements of noir, fairy tales and revenge in this taut tale of power and identity."--San Jose Mercury News
Praise for In the Red

Elena Shapiro was born and raised in Paris. She holds a BA in English from Stanford University, an MFA in fiction from Mills College, and an MA in comparative literature from the University from California, Davis. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband.

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