Queen Anne Books

This is a beautiful, compelling, heart-breaking book. I love Lee’s writing (see his previous, and completely different, novel Aloft) and it really shines in this story of damaged souls finding each other and maybe finding a speck of healing. It begins during the Korean War when June is trying to find safety for herself and her siblings; Hector is trying to reconcile the horrors he has witnessed and participated in as an American soldier; and the Tanners are running an orphanage where June and Hector end up. The story also jumps forward to June’s desperate search for her wayward son while she struggles with an aggressive cancer. As harsh as the character’s lives are, the story never becomes too maudlin. I generally can’t read tragic or depressing books. Like in Aloft, Lee manages to make these difficult relationships and circumstances fascinating, insightful and even funny at times. This is one of those rare doorstops of a book that never felt too long. It will very likely be on my Top Ten of 2010. ~Lillian