From Publishers Weekly
Ruth, a Minneapolis wife and mother, bakes to relax the way others do yoga. And it's a good thing she does, because a house full of cantankerous family members seriously challenges her ability to remain serene in this fluffy, enjoyable third novel by Ray (Julie and Romeo; Step-Ball-Change). Cake is Ruth's version of Zen, allowing her to lose herself in the ritual of familiar smells and precise measurements. She's dealing well with her moody teen daughter, Camille; college student son, Wyatt; and sometimes cantankerous live-in mother, Hollis. She's even handling husband Sam's recent unemployment. But when Guy, Ruth's oft-estranged father and Hollis's ex-husband, is left physically helpless after an injury and must join the chaotic household, just how much cake will she have to bake to save her sanity? The answer is predictably uplifting. Ruth falls right in line with Ray's past harried heroines: she is a cheerful and good-natured caretaker who doesn't neglect herself, but whose happiness and identity is utterly intertwined with her family's. Ray's dialogue is ripe with practical wisdom ("`Oh, there's order in the world all right. It just might not be the order you want'"), and her style is warm and lightly funny ("My mother looked at me as if I had told her I was going to move to Memphis and join an Elvis cult"). Ray has a proven talent for everyday dramas of family life, and her latest is as toothsome as its predecessors.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Jeanne Ray's lead character, Ruth, finds escape and solace in her frantic cake-baking. Ruth's world falls apart when her husband loses his job and her long estranged and newly disabled father announces his plans to move in with them--in spite of the fact that Ruth's mother already resides there. Ruth is forced to take things in stride and save her family's world. Ray reads her own work with relish, clearly enjoying the antics of her characters. Even better, she captures the unwritten nuances of each word, breathing humor and compassion into the novel. With all of their faults, Ray's cast is eminently likable, and her own reading, though a bit unpolished, fits perfectly with the makeshift domestic life she has created. H.L.S. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
