Solstice is the title of multiple novels. The most notable works bearing this title are described below.
Solstice by Joyce Carol Oates (1984)
Solstice is a novel by American author Joyce Carol Oates, first published in 1984 by E. P. Dutton. It was reprinted by Berkley Books in 1985.
Publication details:
- Author: Joyce Carol Oates
- Publisher: E. P. Dutton
- Publication date: January 23, 1984
- Pages: 214
- ISBN: 978-2234024632
Plot: The novel is written from a third-person omniscient point of view, with Monica Jensen and Sheila Trask as the focal characters. It examines a tempestuous relationship between two women, each striving to gain control of the relationship and their self-identity.
Themes: The novel explores female-to-female relationships, selfhood, and creativity. Oates employs the concept of the "double" or doppelgänger to reveal the shifting roles between the two protagonists. Literary critic Rebecca Pepper Sinkler identified Solstice as a significant contribution to "the literature of women's relationships," noting that Oates challenges assumptions that female-to-female relationships inherently enjoy a camaraderie superior to those involving the opposite sex.
Reception: In a generally negative review, New York Times literary critic Christopher Lehmann-Haupt detected Hemingwayesque male-male portraits in the platonic relationship between the two women. He described the ending as "unsatisfying," stating that it "seems to trail off, to disappear into itself."
Solstice by Carol Gilligan (2025)
Solstice is a novel by American psychologist and author Carol Gilligan, published in 2025. The novel centers on a brilliant but restless dancer who discovers the true meaning of love and intimacy through the ebbs and flows of her marriage. Sweeping across decades and continents, the novel draws on Gilligan's background in feminist psychology. It received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which described it as "both cosmopolitan and exquisitely intimate."
Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher (2000)
Winter Solstice is a novel by British author Rosamunde Pilcher, published in 2000. It is a story of second chances and found family, set during the holiday season. It was Pilcher's final novel before her death in 2019.
