Ivory Tower by Grant Matthew Jenkins

Timely and fearless, Ivory Tower by Grant Matthew Jenkins is a resonant meditation on power, family, and sexual predation that rings particularly poignant in today’s social climate.

Margolis Santos is a woman who isn’t afraid to ruffle feathers. As a respected film professor, a protective mother, and wife to the head football coach of Athens University, she is used to her voice being heard. However, when she chooses to raise it in defense of young women being taken advantage of on campus, she becomes embroiled in a vicious battle against tradition, money, and character assassination. When Margolis’ own sexual exploits land her in trouble, she is forced to battle on two fronts, standing up for her own career and personal choices, and providing a voice for those being pressured into silence.

Tackling many of today’s most controversial and essential issues facing collegiate campuses and broader society, Ivory Tower pulls no punches, painting an at-times scathing picture of authority, corruption, and modern morality. Written with sensitivity and grace, this is a hard read, and potentially triggering for some readers, but that is a symptom of writing with such devastating honesty.

While some of the scenes drag through unnecessary dialogue, and the descriptions occasionally come off as generic, the beating heart of this story is the complex characters and evolving relationships, the sharp edges of family ties, the grey space of love, and the temerity of the human spirit. In all, Ivory Tower is a hard-hitting and insightful work of contemporary fiction.