The Instructor: A Novel - Hardcover

And they say the art of letter-writing is dead. In her second novel, The Instructor, Ann Ireland resurrects the practice by craftng her book as one long letter that recounts the unhappy love affair between Simone Paris and her art instructor, Otto. The letter, written by an older, wiser Simone, has the benefit of perspective--a quality that this book examines both in life and in art. Simone is writing to her ex-lover six years after their liaison; she is now the director of a summer arts festival, and Otto has asked her for a job. Under the circumstances, a simple yes or no is not so simple--hence the letter.

Simone was 19 when she met Otto, a man old enough to be her father, but intriguingly everything her own father is not. She is attracted by his aesthetics, his persona as an artist, and so she seduces him, then follows him to Mexico. It isn't long, however, before Simone discovers that Otto still loves his ex-wife, and her carefully constructed idea of love begins to unravel. Simone's painfully garnered perspective--on herself, on Otto, on the nature of love and need gives The Instructor depth, making for an interesting read.

In this elegant novel of passion and art, award-winning author Ann Ireland extends the boundaries of the traditional love story.  The Instructor probes the nature of power shifts between man and woman, teacher and student.  It is a story of needs that become twisted into obsession.

   Simone Paris is nineteen when she leaves Huron County bound for Mexico with her art instructor, Otto Guest.  Their affair is loaded with desire, not only physical but intellectual.  Theirs is a mutual addiction made up of philosophy and shared aesthetic interest, entwined with sexual fascination.

   Six years after their relationship crumbled, Otto returns to Simone.  His reappearance triggers vivid memories which she expresses in a voice matured by experience and regret.

   With rare economy of writing, Ann Ireland evokes a subtle, sophisticated world of lust, betrayal and thirst for artistic fulfilment.
   The Instructor is a richly rewarding follow-up to A Certain Mr. Takahashi which won the Seal First Novel Award in 1985.