Details
| Size | | Length: | 254 pages | | Height: | 9.0 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 15.2 oz |
Industry Reviews
A woman who reassembles her life and achieves greater maturity in her work is the protagonist of Dwyer's impressively nuanced second novel (following the well-reviewed The Tracks of Angels). In this story of betrayal, loss and forgiveness, ceramicist Kate Flannigan has made a career for herself by casting her family members as mythic figures. She's raising her 13-year-old daughter, Audrey, alone in the Southern California beach town where she herself grew up. But Kate bears a scar of betrayal: her husband, Sam, was stolen away a decade earlier by her wild sister Colleen, and Kate has since refused to speak to either of them and has even denied Sam visitation rights. As Kate begins her latest project, a ceramic portrait of herself as Zeus giving birth out of her head to Audrey (as Zeus did to Athena), her brother Luke commits suicide. His death brings the family together again, leading to the reconciliation of the estranged sisters and to Audrey's first meeting with her father. Although at times the dialogue is stagy, the symbolism obvious and the characters na?vely portrayed, the moments of truth in this novel outweigh these minor defects. Dwyer moves gracefully from character to character and from past to present. She gets the intergenerational dialogue just right, often with a flash of humor, and the distinctive voices ring true. Even jaded readers will be moved by this novel of quiet metamorphosis. (Jan.)
Leuchtenburg
Kate is a sculptor and divorced mother of teenaged Audrey. Years ago her beautiful, promiscuous sister Colleen stole away her husband; since then, Kate has severed all contact with Colleen and Audrey's father. Suddenly, she learns that her brother, Luke, has committed suicide. Sounds like the beginning of a typical women's novel, but Dwyer quickly moves beyond that genre as she flashes back to Kate, Colleen, and Luke's childhood, their father's death in a car accident, and Luke's early manifestations of chronic depression. Dwyer skillfully and sympathetically portrays Luke's valiant struggle against the disease as he at first fights vague anxieties and ultimately a debilitating force with an actual, ghoul-like presence. Through it all, Luke tries to be the good brother and son as well as a substitute father to Audrey. Eventually, Luke's death reunites his family in a way he wasn't able to when he was alive. Dwyer is a master at depicting the ghosts haunting modern life loss, alienation, guilt without being maudlin. Highly recommended. Reba Melinda Leiding, James Madison Univ. Lib., Harrisonburg, VA
Kolchin
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