From Publishers Weekly
Hemmings's bittersweet debut novel, an expansion of her first published short story ("The Minor Wars," from House of Thieves and originally published in StoryQuarterly), stars besieged and wryly introspective attorney Matt King, the land-rich descendant of Hawaiian royalty and American missionaries and entrepreneurs. He wrestles with the decision of whether to keep his swath of valuable inherited land or sell it to a real estate developer. But even more critical, Matt also has to decide whether to pull the plug on his wife, Joanie, who has been in an irreversible coma for 23 days following a boat-racing accident. Then Matt finds out that Joanie was having an affair with real estate broker Brian Speer, impelling him to travel with his two daughters—precocious 10-year-old Scottie and fresh from rehab 17-year-old Alex—from Oahu to Kauai to confront Brian. Matt finds out the truth about Joanie and Brian, which influences his decision about what to do with his family's on-the-block land and complicates his plans for Joanie. Matt's journey with his girls forms the emotional core of this sharply observed, frequently hilarious and intermittently heartbreaking look at a well-meaning but confused father trying to hold together his unconventional family. (May)
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
As smart, perceptive, and evocative as Hemmings' premiere literary offering was, (the superlative short story collection House of Thieves, 2005), her irresistible debut novel is light years beyond. Expanding on a tale in that collection, Hemmings follows Matt King and his daughters, precocious 10-year-old Scottie and temperamental 17-year-old Alex, in the aftermath of his wife's involvement in a boating accident that leaves her in a coma. While Joanie tenaciously hangs on, Matt and his daughters tentatively navigate the uncharted waters of life-without-Mom. Reeling from the discovery that Joanie had been having an affair, Matt considers his two out-of-control daughters and realizes that he's failed as both a husband and father. Determined to track down and confront his wife's lover, Matt and the girls embark on a journey of atonement and discovery that will set the course for the rest of their lives. Evincing a sublimely mature style and beguiling command of theme and setting, Hemmings' virtuoso performance offers a piquantly tender and winsomely comic portrait of a singular family's revealing response to tragedy. Carol Haggas
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Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
