Set against a backdrop of Rome, Renaissance artworks, and images of Mary Magdalene, Trompe l'Oeil portrays the ripple effects of a family tragedy and the ways in which its members perceive and misperceive themselves and each other.

Nancy Reisman's debut novel, "The First Desire," was a "New York Times" Notable Book and a recipient of the Goldberg Award from the Foundation for Jewish Culture. Her story collection, "House Fires," won the Iowa Award for Short Fiction. Her short fiction has appeared in many journals and anthologies, including "Tin House, Glimmer Train, the Yale Review, SubTropics, Michigan Quarterly Review, Kenyon Review, Five Points, Narrative, The Best American Short Stories" (2001), and "The O'Henry Award Stories" (2005). Reisman has received fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Commission on the Arts, the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. She teaches at Vanderbilt University and lives in Nashville, TN.