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SORROW

A smart, thoughtful work that balances romance with intriguing philosophical questions.

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A lost soul confronts a lifetime of regrets and the power of art in this novel.

At age 37, Joe Harper has never lived up to his potential. Despite his gift for the guitar and his promise as a philosophy student, he leads a solitary life in Montana, mulling over choices he’s made. A flashback to three years ago sees Joe already starting to grapple with failure when he meets October Danko, a striking performance artist who hires him as her assistant, bringing him back to his hometown of Mill Valley, California. Among the redwoods of his youth, and under October’s empathetic gaze, Joe reflects deeply on his teenage years: the tragic death of his older brother, his difficulty communicating, and his close friendship with Cal Callahan, who helped him find his voice through music. As Joe becomes romantically involved with October, he can’t stop thinking of Cal, who’d urged him to follow his dreams and move to New York City; Joe didn’t take that chance, but Cal went on to find fame. A shocking twist of fate causes Joe’s past and present to collide, and he faces a difficult choice. DeBartolo, the author of How To Kill a Rockstar (2005), plays expertly with the scope of her story: It’s both a clever love triangle and a deeper inquiry into art, communication, and the meaning of success. The central romance feels relatable as the emotive October struggles to help Joe open up, and Joe’s self-deprecating manner makes him a likable narrator. At the same time, descriptions of conceptual artworks, partly inspired by real-world artist Marina Abramovic, lead to big, contemporary questions of human connection. Joe’s squandered potential sparks profound, bittersweet moments, including his acceptance of Cal’s notion that “Everyone is always one decision away from a completely different life.

A smart, thoughtful work that balances romance with intriguing philosophical questions.

Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-949116-30-4

Page Count: 270

Publisher: Woodhall Press

Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020

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THE WOMEN

A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.

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A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.

When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.

A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024

ISBN: 9781250178633

Page Count: 480

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023

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THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE

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

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