After a lifetime of kindly taking care of his irresistible but impossible sister and her wonderful daughter, Tom is finally ready to put himself first. Naturally, that's when his phone rings. Tom does what he always does—answers the call. And therein lies either the beauty or dysfunction, (or perhaps both) of the sometimes too tight ties that bind families together.
McCauley drops us into a real-life land, somewhat resembling ours now, in which sexual orientation is part of the landscape, not an unnatural disaster, and love is love (and mishegoss), no matter its form ... McCauley weaves a witty social critique from the interplay between his characters and the day’s breaking news ... Whatever your politics and predilections, McCauley’s gifts for prose, plot and provocation are likely to offer you a few fast-flying hours in his sunny, slightly futuristic world.
Concerned with the question of endings, of what we leave behind — whether it be our work, our worst mistakes, our most loving-if-flawed relationships ... Personally, I didn't want to leave McCauley's voice and sensibility behind when I finished this novel.
Alternating chapters wryly chronicle the attempts of the three Kemps to tunnel through upheavals of the moment ... The novel is shot through with bright dialogue and smart observations ... Lovely.
