Set in Motion

by Valerie Martin

'An impressive writer'I admire her straightforward style and the intelligence and strength of her heroine' Ann Tyler Helene is a woman constantly on the run. A social worker, she spends her days trying to sort out other people's lives. But her need for professional detachment carries through to her private life where she is pursued by a series of needy men - one simply mad and obsessive, another a drug addict whose habit is all-consuming, the third the partner of her best friend who has a cruel, selfish streak. People see in her the sort of person in whom they can confide their secrets and desires but Helene is determined never to give up the option to walk away'

Genres: Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Valerie Martin is the author of nine novels, including Trespass, Mary Reilly, Italian Fever, and Property, three collections of short fiction, and a biography of St. Francis of Assisi, titled Salvation. She has been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as the Kafka Prize (for Mary Reilly) and Britain’s Orange Prize (for Property). Martin’s last novel, The Confessions of Edward Day was a New York Times notable book for 2009.
A new novel The Ghost of the Mary Celeste is due from Nan Talese/Random House in January 2014, and a middle-grade book Anton and Cecil, Cats at Sea, co-written with Valerie’s niece Lisa Martin, will be out from Algonquin in October of 2013.
Valerie Martin has taught in writing programs at Mt. Holyoke College, Univ. of Massachusetts, and Sarah Lawrence College, among others. She resides in Dutchess County, New York and is currently Professor of English at Mt. Holyoke College.

Reviews

[Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in the late 1970s when it first came out. Was so taken with it I carted it around with me for at least 6 or 7 moves. But it didn't seem to make it through the eighth move, so I repurchased.

It's not a book one loves, but one that grabs you by the throat and won't let go. I will no doubt read it again in a few years.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably would've liked this book more if I hadn't read it (her first novel) after reading all her other novels beforehand. While the writing here is fine, her style is much more assured and confident in her later books. It was intriguing, though, to see the beginning of themes here (detachment, passivity, the working life versus private life, sexual thrall and obsession) that she later brings to fruition in much more satisfying ways in her later novels.

[Pmarsh5]

One of the very few books that had my attention in the first few pages.. and then I couldn't put it down. Honestly...? I'm not sure how much I liked it.. I found that rather strange since it grabbed my attention so quickly.

[Celia · Rating 1 out of 5]

sorry but I thought this was appalling trash.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing story with a disappointing ending.