The End of the Storm
A Novel of Art, Marriage, and Reckoning
by Michael Laor
- Contemporary Literary Fiction
- Domestic Drama
- Romance
The Book
What is more important: your art or your marriage? One stormy night will change everything.
Ingrid is a 40-year-old painter living in Stockholm with her husband Hemming, a sculptor whose career never took off. Over the years, Hemming has gradually taken control: managing their art gallery, directing Ingrid’s artistic output, and making decisions about her work without her input. When he signs an exclusivity contract with a lucrative gallery on her behalf, without her knowledge or consent, Ingrid reaches a breaking point. She is furious. She is suffocated. She needs to escape.
Seeking clarity, Ingrid heads to the mountains for a ski holiday. But while speeding down the slopes, lost in thought, she crashes into Uri, a young nomad traveling the world after his father’s death. As she recovers in the hospital, fearing she may never paint again, she finds an unexpected kindred spirit in him. Their connection is immediate and dangerous. As they grow closer, Ingrid must confront fundamental questions: What does she want? Who is she without her marriage? What is she willing to sacrifice, and what is she no longer willing to endure?
Why This Book Matters
In a marriage ruled by the stormy temperaments of two artists, Ingrid will need drastic measures to become herself again. The End of the Storm is a poignant and captivating portrait of love, marriage, betrayal, and adventure, exploring the complexities of relationships and creative careers, and what we are and are not willing to sacrifice for our partners and our art.
At its emotional core is not dramatic conflict but quiet suffocation: the slow erosion of a woman’s agency within her marriage, and what happens when she finally fights back. Ingrid’s art is not separate from her identity; it is her identity, and her journey to reclaim her creative voice speaks to anyone who has lost themselves in a relationship. The novel does not shy away from the messy nature of forbidden attraction, and it wrestles with the true cost of freedom without offering easy answers.
Set in Stockholm and the snowy mountains of Scandinavia, and drawing on the author’s lifelong passions for visual art and skiing, the novel offers a vivid setting and a strong appeal for readers aged 30 to 60, book clubs, and anyone drawn to stories of personal transformation and second chances.
About the Book
Genre: Contemporary Literary Fiction / Domestic Drama / Romance
Published in English | 90,000 Words
For readers of Meg Wolitzer’s The Wife and Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies, The End of the Storm is a poignant novel about a painter who must choose between her marriage and herself.
Author
Michael Laor
Michael Laor was born in 1954 to Holocaust survivors and grew up in Beersheba, in southern Israel. He spent 42 years in the high-tech industry, including nine years in Silicon Valley, where he earned an MBA from California State University. He also holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and a degree in General Literature from the Open University of Israel.
An avid hiker and skier, Michael has completed treks across Israel, the Alps, Central Asia, and the US, experiences that inform the mountain and adventure settings in his fiction. His deep interest in visual art and decades of reading literary fiction laid the foundation for his own creative work.
Throughout his career, Michael wrote numerous short stories, some of which received recognition and awards. After retiring from technology, he devoted himself fully to writing. The End of the Storm is his first published full-length novel.
Rights Status
Publishing Rights Available
Translation Rights Available
Film Rights Available
Audio Rights Available
Comparable Titles
This book is suitable for readers who enjoyed:
- The Wife by Meg Wolitzer
- Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
- The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud
BISAC Categories
- FIC019000 – FICTION / Literary
- FIC045010 – FICTION / Family Life / Marriage & Divorce
- FIC044000 – FICTION / Women
Themes
- Art and Identity
- Power and Agency in Marriage
- Desire and Recklessness
- Freedom and Its Cost
- Creative Autonomy
- Betrayal and Forbidden Attraction
- Personal Transformation
- Second Chances
Keywords
For readers interested in:
- Contemporary literary fiction
- Domestic drama and marriage stories
- Novels about artists and creativity
- Forbidden love and romance
- Women reclaiming their identity
- Stories set in Scandinavia
- Book club fiction
- Stories of second chances
FAQ
What is The End of the Storm about?
A painter in Stockholm, controlled by her husband, meets a young traveler after a skiing accident and must decide what she wants from her life, her marriage, and her art.
Where does the story take place?
In Stockholm and in the Scandinavian mountains.
What genre is this book?
Contemporary literary fiction with elements of domestic drama and romance.
Has this book been published before?
Yes, the book is published in English.
What is the word count?
Approximately 90,000 words.
Who will enjoy this book?
Readers of contemporary literary fiction, domestic drama, and romantic fiction, especially readers aged 30 to 60 who are interested in art, marriage dynamics, and personal transformation.
Rights Agent's Notes
The End of the Storm combines the emotional pull of domestic drama with the depth of literary fiction, centered on a question that resonates across cultures: what we sacrifice for love, and what we owe ourselves. Readers of the English edition have called it “engaging,” “very emotional,” and “captivating.”
Its Scandinavian setting and its focus on art and creative identity make it especially well suited to Scandinavian, German, and other European markets, as well as to publishers of upmarket women’s and book club fiction.