Synopsis
Telling her husband to leave and then falling into a depression, Augusta finds herself surrounded by her loud and complicated family members, including her two radically different sons and her eccentric friend. A first novel. 20,000 first printing. Tour.
Reviews
In her engaging debut novel, a quirky study of a dysfunctional suburban family, Stevens deftly portrays people in extreme mental states who attempt to pull themselves and one another back from the abyss. After Augusta Iris kicks Gordie, her artist husband, out of the house over his extramarital affair, she spends weeks in bed, barely speaking, consumed by grief and suppressed anger. When her stoned-out teenage son, Henry, a high-school dropout who mows lawns, learns that his father is living with a lover, he builds a bizarre sculpture in Dad's studio to work out his rage. Meanwhile, Henry's asocial brother Mathew, a Harvard Ph.D. candidate in chemistry, has returned home to comfort Mom. A recluse and health-food fanatic, Mathew hides in his room to avoid Bette Mack, Henry's feisty live-in girlfriend, who attempts to revive the comatose family with peppy advice and sassy critiques. Bette seduces Mathew, is caught, flees and then learns that she is pregnant by Henry, triggering a series of sharp confrontations and decisions that propel most of the main characters toward emotional maturity. Stevens uses her characters' vivid dreams as well as Augusta's interior monologues to perceptively explore familial conflicts. Her touch is assured, her ear for vernacular dialogue marvelously sharp. This is an auspicious debut.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
When Augusta Iris realized her husband was having an affair, she packed his bags and asked him to leave. As soon as he left, her life crumbled; she didn't bother getting out of bed. Her youngest son Henry called his brother Matthew, at Harvard, and Matthew came home to help. When Matthew saw the shape Augusta was in, he climbed into his bed to stay. It took Henry's bubblegum chewing, opinionated girlfriend Bette to shake the Irises out of the doldrums. Bette prodded and sympathized with Augusta and Matthew until each found a new role in their fractured family. Then, after breaking up with Henry and unintentionally creating a rift between the brothers, Bette left. Only after Augusta has discovered Bette's secret do the brothers mend their rift and Augusta realize she doesn't want her husband back. Author April Stevens' first novel has been compared to the works of Alice Hoffman and Anne Tyler, so collect her where interest warrants. Melanie Duncan
This is the story of Augusta Iris, who takes to her bed when her husband leaves and refuses to come out for the entire summer. Or is it the story of her son Henry, a sweet, high school senior who spends too much time smoking pot and doesn't know how to help his mom or himself? Or maybe it's the story of Henry's brother, Matthew?a loner working on his Ph.D., who comes home to be helped as much as to help. Exploding onto the scene of these three and their sad lives is Bette Mack, Henry's gum-chewing, insightful, say-what-she-thinks girlfriend. Somehow Bette seems to know instinctively what they all need. Eventually, she blows the family apart and ultimately pulls them back together. This is a charming and appealing first novel, with quirky characters reminiscent of Anne Tyler's fiction. Highly recommended.?Kathy Ingels Helmond, Indianapolis-Marion Cty. P.L.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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