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OPEN HEART

Israeli writer Yehoshua (the prize-winning Mr. Mani, 1992, etc.) returns to the more intimate dilemmas of his previous work. Where Mr. Mani was a sweeping, multigenerational tale with an omniscient narrator, Yehoshua's latest is a slow-developing drama of adultery told almost completely from the point of view of its principal character—Benjy Rubin, a bright young intern at a Tel Aviv hospital, whose fondest desire is to be a surgeon, though his mentor, Dr. Hishin, is trying to steer him into internal medicine. Things take an unexpected turn when at Hishin's recommendation Benjy is asked to accompany the hospital's administrative director, Lazar, to India to tend for and retrieve Lazar's daughter Einat. Joining the two will be Lazar's wife, Dori. Benjy acquits himself well in India but on his return finds himself irresistibly drawn to Dori: ``Ever since my mysterious infatuation. . . ,'' he says at one point, ``my life had begun flowing along a crooked, winding course.'' The story follows the same course, taking Benjy through a friend's wedding that leads him almost directly to the altar with a surprising partner, then to a year's stay in England working in an exchange program with another hospital, and, finally, to the birth of his daughter. When Lazar dies after a seemingly routine bypass operation, Benjy's relationship with Dori takes a series of unexpected turns, resulting in the apparent destruction of his marriage. Yehoshua tells this tale with his usual deft sense of irony, even though his narrator, however self-conscious, remains apparently unaware of how ridiculous he becomes at times; and the author's device of intervening periodically to offer dreamlike asides obliquely related to the story becomes distracting, making a long book seem even longer. Still, even if not up to its predecessor, this is nonetheless the work of a superb novelist: haunting and annoying by turns, with considerable emotional payoff at the close. (Author tour)

Pub Date: May 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-385-26793-2

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1996

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TELL ME LIES

There are unforgettable beauties in this very sexy story.

Passion, friendship, heartbreak, and forgiveness ring true in Lovering's debut, the tale of a young woman's obsession with a man who's "good at being charming."

Long Island native Lucy Albright, starts her freshman year at Baird College in Southern California, intending to study English and journalism and become a travel writer. Stephen DeMarco, an upperclassman, is a political science major who plans to become a lawyer. Soon after they meet, Lucy tells Stephen an intensely personal story about the Unforgivable Thing, a betrayal that turned Lucy against her mother. Stephen pretends to listen to Lucy's painful disclosure, but all his thoughts are about her exposed black bra strap and her nipples pressing against her thin cotton T-shirt. It doesn't take Lucy long to realize Stephen's a "manipulative jerk" and she is "beyond pathetic" in her desire for him, but their lives are now intertwined. Their story takes seven years to unfold, but it's a fast-paced ride through hookups, breakups, and infidelities fueled by alcohol and cocaine and with oodles of sizzling sexual tension. "Lucy was an itch, a song stuck in your head or a movie you need to rewatch or a food you suddenly crave," Stephen says in one of his point-of-view chapters, which alternate with Lucy's. The ending is perfect, as Lucy figures out the dark secret Stephen has kept hidden and learns the difference between lustful addiction and mature love.

There are unforgettable beauties in this very sexy story.

Pub Date: June 12, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5011-6964-9

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Atria

Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018

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TRUE COLORS

Above-average formula fiction, making full display of the author’s strong suits: sense of place, compassion for characters...

Female rivalry is again the main preoccupation of Hannah’s latest Pacific Northwest sob saga (Firefly Lane, 2008, etc.).

At Water’s Edge, the family seat overlooking Hood Canal, Vivi Ann, youngest and prettiest of the Grey sisters and a champion horsewoman, has persuaded embittered patriarch Henry to turn the tumbledown ranch into a Western-style equestrian arena. Eldest sister Winona, a respected lawyer in the nearby village of Oyster Shores, hires taciturn ranch hand Dallas Raintree, a half-Native American. Middle sister Aurora, stay-at-home mother of twins, languishes in a dull marriage. Winona, overweight since adolescence, envies Vivi, whose looks get her everything she wants, especially men. Indeed, Winona’s childhood crush Luke recently proposed to Vivi. Despite Aurora’s urging (her principal role is as sisterly referee), Winona won’t tell Vivi she loves Luke. Yearning for Dallas, Vivi stands up Luke to fall into bed with the enigmatic, tattooed cowboy. Winona snitches to Luke: engagement off. Vivi marries Dallas over Henry’s objections. The love-match triumphs, and Dallas, though scarred by child abuse, is an exemplary father to son Noah. One Christmas Eve, the town floozy is raped and murdered. An eyewitness and forensic evidence incriminate Dallas. Winona refuses to represent him, consigning him to the inept services of a public defender. After a guilty verdict, he’s sentenced to life without parole. A decade later, Winona has reached an uneasy truce with Vivi, who’s still pining for Dallas. Noah is a sullen teen, Aurora a brittle but resigned divorcée. Noah learns about the Seattle Innocence Project. Could modern DNA testing methods exonerate Dallas? Will Aunt Winona redeem herself by reopening the case? The outcome, while predictable, is achieved with more suspense and less sentimental histrionics than usual for Hannah.

Above-average formula fiction, making full display of the author’s strong suits: sense of place, compassion for characters and understanding of family dynamics.

Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-312-36410-6

Page Count: 400

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2008

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