Dillen’s second novel (Hero, 1994) is an eccentrically narrated, riches-to-rags story of the spiritual redemption of a fast-talker, wheeler-dealer, and, yes, fool. Fools are losers when they don’t know they’re fools, and Barnaby Griswold is no loser. Griswold is actually proud of his cowardly, rash, idiotic behavior through his nearly 50 years of life: he’s made money in the securities trade, stayed out of jail, and held together a shabby respectability at his New England athletic club. But he’s also separated from his wife and children, and runs his heart on the fumes of this or that deal. After becoming involved in the Oklahoma oil boom, Griswold accurately predicts its crash and sells before losing everything. His co-investors are none too pleased with Griswold’s new-found fortune, and they connive to strip him of his assets to kick him out of the trade, as well as force him to issue an open apology to all damaged parties. Humbled, Griswold takes up the care of Ada, his wife’s ailing mother, with whom he is at last able to forge meaningful intimacy. One of the few women who knows him for the fool that he is, Ada also genuinely—indeed, sexually—loves Griswold. He meets Marie in a diner, and finds contentment in dating her. When he’s called back to the country club to preserve his family claim to their sacred membership, Griswold guesses the stock market will crash overnight, calls a few select friends, and finds Marie again, the daughter of a club elder. The market crashes, Griswold is restored to social health, and ready to court Marie. His commitment to Ada, however, compels, his return to Oklahoma—just the foolish sort of thing he likes to do. A well-written tale of comic sensibility, sturdily but plainly plotted, with enough skew in it to make things unpredictable, if not quite compelling, for the reader. (First serial to Harper’s)
Pub Date: Sept. 24, 1999
ISBN: 1-56512-234-8
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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