REVIEWED BY ALLISON LYNN
NOVEL
After the worst happens, how does a mother go on? Struggling to cope following the death of her young daughter, author Hood found solace in knitting, in her family (13-year-old son Sam, husband Lorne and 2-year-old Annabelle, whom they adopted from China) and in writing this sentimental yet acutely moving novel. The book also deals with a child's death: Mary Baxter's Stella is felled by meningitis. So immobilized by grief that she can no longer read or write, Mary joins a knitting group in her hometown of Providence, R.I. Each member of the group turns out to have her own sorrowful tale, and the women's tragedies unfurl one by one, like skeins of yarn rolling down a slope. The plot ultimately becomes predictable, but Hood never lets her characters slip into cliché. In heartfelt, unfussy prose, she allows the harsh realities of their hurt to shine through.
by Andrea Chapin and Sally Wofford-Girand
REVIEWED BY SUE CORBETT
NONFICTION
Many women will recognize themselves in this collection of 22 essays about love, marriage and divorce, though the writing–and wisdom–is uneven. Terry McMillan's raunchy riposte to her ex, who notoriously came out on Oprah, seethes with still-hot anger–it's embarrassing to read. But Joyce Maynard's deconstruction of her divorce brims with hard-won self-knowledge. Among the best entries is Ann Hood's wrenching account of the death of her 5-year-old daughter Grace (she spiked a fever and died 36 hours later), in which Hood tracks her evolution from someone who would run from unpleasantness to a woman who sees "the virtue, the necessity, of staying." (Hood's new novel, reviewed below, expands on those themes.) If there's common ground among these diverse essays, it's that even the women who stayed married admitted to unloving thoughts. As one essayist puts it: "Divorce? Never. Homicide often."
by Allen Shawn
REVIEWED BY JONATHAN DURBIN
MEMOIR
As a young man, Shawn, the musician son of New Yorker editor William Shawn and brother of actor Wallace, became increasingly prone to anxiety and panic attacks, limiting travel and severely constricting his social circles. In this extraordinarily incisive account, he struggles to understand the genesis of his agoraphobia, delving into psychology and neuroscience while examining his own personal history. The sum is a fascinating look at existence under siege (at one point, Shawn describes agoraphobia as "a kind of 'self-allergy'"), which allows comprehensive insights into the lives of those who suffer from anxiety disorders.
by Joe Hill
THRILLER
Rocker Judas Coyne fritters away his days with barely legal beauties. But when he buys a haunted suit, the apparition of a gaunt old man interrupts Coyne's love life: "The dead man lifted his head and his eyes rolled open. But where his eyes belonged was only a black scribble." Hill's debut is a thriller with moments of terror and genuine humor. The author, Stephen King's son, has created a truly evil villain whose twisted religious sensibilities dovetail nicely with Coyne's showmanship.
by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
REVIEWED BY MICHELLE GREEN
CRITIC'S CHOICE
MEMOIR
A gifted writer and compassionate soul, human rights activist Ali makes it clear that her harrowing upbringing as a strict Muslim in Ethiopia, Kenya and Saudi Arabia only stoked her rebellious spirit. Her father, a dissident Somali politician, was often absent; her devout mother subjected her to beatings and, eventually, to genital mutilation. Fleeing a forced marriage by seeking asylum in the Netherlands in '92, Ali found her voice–denouncing Muslim radicals who responded with death threats. She's still speaking out, and readers who crave well-told tales will want to listen.
>• GET COOL HALLOWEEN COSTUMES: "I remember going to a party when I was 5 or 6 and my parents didn't pack me a costume, so they wrapped me in toilet paper. I was the Charmin mummy."
• DON'T SCARE EASILY: "When I go to a really scary movie, I tend to have the wrong reactions–I laugh."
• TAKE A PEN NAME: "I've made my mistakes in private–where they belong–without the pressure of being a famous guy's kid."
• CARRY ON THE LEGACY: "I think if I couldn't write, it would be like losing a foot. Not a whole leg, but definitely a few toes."
>They've been ignored, says Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in his new book. He shares ideas about how to change that. Plus some other stuff.
You talk a lot about the Baileys. Who are they? A fictional couple that represent the great middle class. They need help and no one's talking to them. My imaginary friends.
Are they like anyone we know? Maybe a straighter version of Peter and Lois on The Family Guy.
You have a "50% Solution" to help families like the Baileys. How would you, say, increase the number of college graduates by 50 percent? Make all college tuition deductible.
Cut childhood obesity by 50 percent? Put a small tax on junk-food ads to pay for ads telling kids why so many french fries aren't good for them.
Your old pal Al Gore is up for the Nobel Peace Prize. His persistence on global warming has changed the world. He'd have more fun winning the Oscar [for An Inconvenient Truth], but they'll probably serve Swedish meatballs both places.
You've been called the Democrats' Karl Rove... I hope I'm a little bit nicer.
The Family Guy family: Forgotten majority?
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
