I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes [Paperback]

Meet the Zing family. There's Maude and David Zing. They have two grown daughters, Fancy and Marbie. Fancy is married to Radcliffe and they have one child, Cassie. Marbie has a boyfriend named Vernon Taylor. He and his little sister Listen live with Marbie in an apartment. Outside the Zing family is Cath Murphy who happens to be a 2nd grade teacher and all around likeable girl. Further, Cath is Cassie's teacher. Every Friday night the Zing family meets secretly in Maude and David's family shed, which is not really a shed at all, and discusses the "secret." This secret is so big it consumes all their lives and the lives of others involved with them. The secret has been going on for quite a while. Each of their lives is governed in one way or another by the secret.

This novel has been called a fairy-tale for grown-ups and I wholeheartedly agree. I adored this book and did not want it to end. Odd and wonderful things happen. Umbrellas can fly across a beach and hurt someone; spells can be cast from a hand-made book and come true; a lone sock can be found and change one's life; it can snow in Sydney. Besides extraordinary things happening, each chapter begins with a different narrator which at times gives one several perspectives of what is happening.

Finding out the secret was not the part of the book I loved best, though I did love that part. Following each of the characters through their daily lives and learning more about them was like going on a weird and wonderful journey. As we travel through the novel, we get to see inside Fancy's marriage; Marbie's relationships; past lives and present of Maude and David; Listen's trouble at school; as well Cath's loves and life. I smiled and laughed more than once as I read through the book and I hated to say goodbye to the loveable Zing family. I can only hope Moriarty writes another adult novel soon!

I doubt I can praise this novel highly enough. It requires plenty of attention from the reader, as it consists of about half a dozen storylines that interact with each other in complex ways to form a one-of-a-kind big picture. This is much more adult than Jaclyn Moriarty's previous works but includes the same cleverness and (sometimes painfully) true-to-life emotions that made Celia such a winner. It would be a shame to give away much of this beautiful puzzle of a story, but since so little information about it is available to Americans, I'll say this:

The story focuses on the Zings -- a family with an important "Secret" -- along with those close to them and teachers at the local elementary school. It is not fantasy; rather, this is technically "realistic fiction," but is an amazing tale of highly unusual circumstances.

Such imagination; such brilliance; such emotional power. You may have to order from obscure Canadian or Australian publishing companies -- but I say it's worth it.

Being a huge fan of Jaclyn Moriarty's other two works, "The Year of Secret Assignments" and "Feeling Sorry for Celia", I was especially excited when I saw that she was releasing a new book. Unfortunately, the book's release was limited to Canada, and I realized that it would take me quite a while to get my hands on a copy (without paying a fortune). This past weekend, I was up in Montreal (Ms. Moriarty's hometown) and I decided to look for a copy of this book. While in Paragraphe, (a bookstore located on McGill College Ave), I not only found the book, but I found a signed edition! Obviously, I purchased it immediately, hoping that this book would be as, if not more, clever than her other two works. Well, all I have to say is that "I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes" does not disappoint. It was perfect in every aspect. Fans of "Celia" and those who are not familiar with her works will delight at this true example of lighthearted, well constructed prose! Well done, Ms. Moriarty. Well done.