This first Friday of December, I offer a book review; something I plan to do on occasion here on these “Wondering” pages. I had the pleasure to meet and learn from Ellen Sussman at the recent Kauai Writers Conference and I am happy to offer these few words about one of her novels.
Writers are big readers. Titles, themes, main characters, and endings can get lost in a blur of pixels or fonts. Some books have twists or action-packed page-turning that grabs you. Some become old friends; you sigh when the back cover rests under your hand. That’s how I felt when I finished “On a Night Like This.” Maybe it’s because I love character-driven novels. Maybe it’s because I felt a connection with the author after spending a week in her presence. Really it is because I was in the space of the main character, Blair, from page one. When Chapter Two entered the world of Luke, leaving Blair behind, I wanted to return to her. But only for a moment because soon I was right there with Luke.
Blair is dying. She juggles a high-level chef job, a surprise rendezvous with a high school acquaintance (Luke) and motherhood of Amanda, her sixteen-year-old daughter. Readers quietly join them in the dance of life that is overshadowed by death. Yet it is not maudlin or gruesome. Nor does it manipulate your heartstrings like so many formulaic (and dare I say it, popular) novels. It magnificently unfolds the story of these three and all the intertwined characters with whom they are in relationships. I hated to tell them goodbye as they left my reading corner to live forever in the confines of the book. And isn’t that how every book-reading experience should be? It now resides on a stack of books read this year, but when I look at its spine, I smile at the memory of hanging out with the people created by Ellen Sussman in “On a Night Like This.” (Published by Warner Books, Inc. 2004)
Quote of the Week…
“A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is a mirror.” Ken Keyes, Jr. 1921-1995
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