Lost in the Forest (Ballantine Reader's Circle) - Softcover

Miller, Sue

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345469593 ISBN 13: 9780345469595

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 2006

Synopsis

For nearly two decades, since the publication of her iconic first novel, The Good Mother, Sue Miller has distinguished herself as one of our most elegant and widely celebrated chroniclers of family life, with a singular gift for laying bare the interior lives of her characters. In each of her novels, Miller has written with exquisite precision about the experience of grace in daily life-the sudden, epiphanic recognition of the extraordinary amid the ordinary-as well as the sharp and unexpected motions of the human heart away from it, toward an unruly netherworld of upheaval and desire. But never before have Miller's powers been keener or more transfixing than they are in Lost in the Forest, a novel set in the vineyards of Northern California that tells the story of a young girl who, in the wake of a tragic accident, seeks solace in a damaging love affair with a much older man.

Eva, a divorced and happily remarried mother of three, runs a small bookstore in a town north of San Francisco. When her second husband, John, is killed in a car accident, her family's fragile peace is once again overtaken by loss. Emily, the eldest, must grapple with newfound independence and responsibility. Theo, the youngest, can only begin to fathom his father's death. But for Daisy, the middle child, John's absence opens up a world of bewilderment, exposing her at the onset of adolescence to the chaos and instability that hover just beyond the safety of parental love. In her sorrow, Daisy embarks on a harrowing sexual odyssey, a journey that will cast her even farther out onto the harsh promontory of adulthood and lost hope.

With astonishing sensuality and immediacy, Lost in the Forest moves through the most intimate realms of domestic life, from grief and sex to adolescence and marriage. It is a stunning, kaleidoscopic evocation of a family in crisis, written with delicacy and masterful care. For her lifelong fans and those just discovering Sue Miller for the first time, here is a rich and gorgeously layered tale of a family breaking apart and coming back together again: Sue Miller at her inimitable best.

About this title

Product Description:

One minute John is the cornerstone of Eva's world, rock to his two teenage stepdaughters and his own son Theo, the next he is tossed through the air in a traffic accident, and snapped like a twig. His sudden death changes everything. Eva struggles with the terror and desolation of loneliness, and finds herself drawn back to her untrustworthy ex-husband; Emily, the eldest daughter, grapples with her new-found independence and responsibility. Little Theo can only begin to fathom the permanence of his father's death. But for Daisy, John's absence opens up a whole world of confusion just at the onset of adolescence and blossoming sexuality. And in steps a man only too willing to take advantage.

Review:

'Sue Miller has been making it new now for a long time, and Lost in the Forest is a shining affirmation that her power only continues to grow' Washington Post 'Sue Miller's latest novel secures her place in the company of writers like Anne Tyler and Alison Lurie ... Lost in the Forest has a seemingly effortless grace; Miller quickly captures and never loses our attention' Daily Mail 'Sue Miller brings unusual skill in the exploration of women's hopes and regrets. The careful build-up of detail, and an acute understanding of all the facts and feelings which lie behind disguises, make this a sensitive examination of two private lives' Sunday Telegraph 'Wonderful - rich, intelligent and moving ... this is the fiction we need' Los Angeles Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0345469593
• ISBN 13: 9780345469595
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272