When Rachel and Rubiat meet in art school, they are surprised by a sudden passion. But it is tested, right away, when Rubiat gives in to a reckless, self-destructive impulse that sets him adrift. Rachel has no choice but to resume her studies even though she doesn't know what happened to him or if he survived. After graduation, she moves to Queens, New York, where she begins a career as a painter while supporting herself by teaching ESL classes to immigrants. When she gets together with another man and things become serious, she realizes she can' t go forward until she solves the mystery of Rubiat' s disappearance. Told in shifting points of view, The Causative Factor explores the power of art and love in a story that asserts the complexities of human nature.
"Suspenseful, original, and full of heart, this novel gripped me from the first page and continued to surprise me throughout. What does it mean to make a life, to make art, to make a life making art? I'll always remember these characters and their complex paths."
Andrea Barrett, national book award winner, Natural History
"I couldn't stop turning the pages of Megan Staffel's THE CAUSATIVE FACTOR. Her characters are so vivid and so complicated and their lives are full of exhilarating surprises as they try to shape the future and negotiate the past. A spellbinding novel."
Margot Livesey
"Early on in Megan Staffel's beautiful new book, there's talk of art that "proves the extraordinary is out and about in the world." THE CAUSATIVE FACTOR is just that proof. Haunting, stirring, and bracingly romantic, this is a novel to fall head over heels for."
