THE FOUNTAIN

Another lugubrious romance from Grayson, her third (The Observatory, 2000, etc.), set, once again, in Longwood Falls, New York.

Maybe it’s something in the water, but no one seems too happy in this upstate hamlet, especially not Casey Becket. Teacher. Wife. Mother of two. Is that all there is to life? About to celebrate her 20th wedding anniversary with hubby Michael, she dreams obsessively of the man who got away years ago: Will Combray, a lean, sexy drifter—although the author feels obliged to point out primly that he wasn’t a “real vagrant.” Everything else about the mysterious stranger seemed deliciously real to an impressionable teenager like Casey, who was intrigued by his vague plans to be a writer someday and even more intrigued by his huge, throbbing motorcycle. Though Casey had expected to marry Michael, the boy next door, Will’s catlike gray eyes and passionate lovemaking thrilled her no end. Too bad he left her at the altar without a word of farewell. Fortunately, she wasn’t pregnant. Unfortunately, her parents were killed in a car crash soon after. Noble Michael married the devastated girl, and turned out to be a peach. But this skilled woodworker, loving mate, and tender, funny father isn’t quite good enough for self-absorbed Casey. When Will turns up unexpectedly amidst preparations for their anniversary fête, telling her that he’s been married and divorced twice, she’s flabbergasted. Apparently he never stopped thinking about her! And his meteoric rise from bank underling to wealthy San Francisco venture capitalist wows her too—it’s not long before she’s swooning in his arms. But when she discovers the real reason he ditched her the night before their wedding, Casey thinks twice.

Ho-hum.