After graduating from business school at UC Berkeley, a bright young woman on her way to a job in Manhattan finance takes a major detour at a Sonoma winery.
If Miriam Parker’s debut novel were a wine, it would be a super-fizzy Champagne rather than a serious, heavy port ... Set in the wine country around Sonoma, The Shortest Way Home is told by Hannah, a young woman about to graduate from business school and head for a lucrative Goldman Sachs job in New York. But during a getaway weekend in wine country with her almost-fiancé, Ethan, she visits a historic, down-on-its-heels winery and surprises everyone — especially herself — by impulsively giving up New York, putting Ethan on the back burner, and taking a marketing job at the winery ... Yes this is a romance, but it is also a novel about a young woman finding herself, figuring out the difference between what she wants to do with her life and what others want.
...The Bellosguardo winery, its friendly dog named Tannin and an even friendlier bartender are all so charming that Hannah agrees, almost instantly, to give up her lucrative future in New York—and possibly her relationship with Ethan (her long term boyfriend)—in lieu of a questionable marketing position with the struggling winery. It’s a business she knows nothing about, with employers who seem to have questionable dreams and desires of their own. What could possibly go wrong? ... In The Shortest Way Home, Miriam Parker explores the persistent question of whether grass is truly greener on the other side, and whether following the heart will lead you where you belong. This is a story that wine lovers and big dreamers will devour.
Hannah Greene, 30, finally has her life figured out. She is about to graduate from business school, has a steady, long-term boyfriend, Ethan, and a prestigious new job at Goldman Sachs. But when she and Ethan take a road trip to wine country, the thought of going back to the urban jungle of NYC pales in comparison to the fresh air and wine of Sonoma. Luckily, one of the wineries, Bellosguardo, can use someone with Hannah’s business skills ... While Hannah can be unsympathetic at times with her selfish decisions, the eclectic cast of characters rounds her out. Perfect to read with a glass of wine and some good cheese.
