Kathleen Levine, a devoted wife, mother, and children’s librarian, lives in the seaside town of Gloucester, Massachusetts. When she is diagnosed with breast cancer, she is thrown into turmoil.

Library Journal

Linda Emond’s performance helps to enliven the second offering by the author of the best-selling biblical epic The Red Tent. This novel, far narrower in scope than Diamant’s first, focuses on two women: Kathleen Levine, a 59-year-old children’s librarian undergoing radiation therapy for breast cancer, and Joyce Tabachnik, a 42-year-old journalist and romance novelist struggling to cope with a workaholic spouse and their increasingly impertinent 12-year-old daughter. Kathleen is a longtime resident of Cape Ann, MA, while Joyce and her husband have just purchased a summer home there. The two women meet one night after synagogue and immediately hit it off. While taking long walks along Good Harbor beach, the two gradually share their personal histories, developing a deep friendship that helps them cope with their domestic problems. Diamant’s smooth prose, well-drawn characters, and vivid descriptions of Cape Ann help to compensate for the novel’s slow-moving, minimal plot. A solid choice for large fiction collections.DBeth Farrell, Portage Cty. Dist. Lib., OH Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publish Date : 2002-10-02