The impossibility of having it all

REVIEWS BY BARBARA SAMUEL

The core of what makes a good marriage is at the heart of Slummy Mummy, by British feature writer Fiona Neill. (Neill writes a weekly column by the same name for the London Times.) The novel chronicles the domestic crisis of Lucy Sweeney, mother of three sons, wife to the tidy and exasperated Tom. Lucy has developed a crush on one of the school dads, a stay-at-home writer who has "bad boy" penciled all over him—until he opens his mouth to compare cereal mixes. Lucy—to put it mildly—is not the most organized of mothers. Her laundry pile is out of control, her car is a science experiment of old apple cores and melted chocolate, and she can't seem to hang on to her keys. On the other hand, she adores her children, and everyone in her life chooses the compassionate and thoughtful Lucy when they need a confidante. Her husband—well, they loved each other once, and maybe they would again if they could ever have sex, but how is that achieved, exactly, with three children under the age of seven? Lucy is both clever and kind, a disaster and a dear, and most of all a woman you'd never mind sitting down to share a bottle of wine with, because she is always entertaining. This book makes a great pick-me-up on a day when you've got those can't-seem-to-get-it-all-done blues.


Two assured debuts

Elizabeth Joy Arnold's accomplished and stunning first novel, Pieces of My Sister's Life, is the poignant and riveting tale of twin sisters who love the same man—and the tragic, long-ranging consequences of their rivalry. Kerry and Eve Barnard, essentially orphaned at 16, always shared an almost mystical bond—until the hectic passions and heedless yearnings that explode a year later. Flash forward 13 years and the estranged sisters are faced with another life-altering event that will force them to come to terms with themselves and each other, and the fact that life has not always been fair or even kind. In prose both elegant and direct, Arnold delivers a piercingly romantic, highly readable tale of mystery and loss, longing and redemption as haunting as the last dusk of summer.


Everyone asks Eva Cassady how she lost all that weight—more than 50 pounds, all told. Maybe, she confides to the reader, they don't really want to know. Luckily, she tells all in The Adultery Diet, which is a novel in spite of the fact that its author's name is also Eva Cassady. Protagonist Eva has slammed squarely into the crossroads of middle age: She's sending her only daughter to Europe for a year, her marriage is in the doldrums, and even her job as a magazine writer has lost its luster when she is assigned to interview a famous architect—who happens to be an ex-boyfriend. Michael seems eager to reconnect, and Eva cannot let him see her the way she is. Immediately, she goes on a diet before she has to interview him. As the pounds drop away, so do the illusions and protections of her life. This Cinderella story has a bitter twist that takes it out of traditional romance territory into an examination of the pressures of middle age. Sharp insights, the clever chapter headings listing Eva's weight and the rising tension combine to create a one-sitting read.


The passions of a savage age

From the first instant Rosamund sees the captive slave in a Viking camp, she's snared by his extraordinary beauty. Chained and beaten—is he dead?—the man nonetheless moves her to challenge his captor to a roll of the dice in exchange for his life. Captured, by Helen Kirkman, explores the story of two battle-weary survivors of the Viking wars, who have both been forced by the times and their positions into situations they would not have chosen. Both have secrets that shame them. The Dark Ages settings Kirkman creates are meaty and sensual, and she has the voice to carry it off. Her language is as heady as mead and firelight, her vision of Viking England and its conflicts a refreshing change from the traditional settings of historical romances.


Barbara Samuel's most recent novel is Madame Mirabou's School of Love. She blogs regularly at awriterafoot.com.

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