1h 15m 58s
November 3, 2022
28 views
Carole Holland's Split Desires is a novel about the life of a teenager, Lillian, as she embarks on a year-long journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening. Lillian's father, Richard, is an alcoholic and her mother, Betty, a devout Catholic. Her life with her parents is strained and lonely, and she longs for a life where she can feel free to be herself. Her parents, who have always been supportive of her, agree to let her spend the year at the summer camp where they met and where they still spend their summers together. There, Lillian falls in love with a boy named Tom, who is also experiencing a lot of firsts. Tom's father is an alcoholic and his mother, who died when he was young, was a devoted Catholic. Tom's mother had taught him that "sin leads to suffering," so Tom has never really been able to explore his sexuality. Lillian's summer with Tom ends abruptly when she gets pregnant and is forced to leave the camp. They are apart for years and it is not until they reunite in college that they discover how much they have changed.