From Publishers Weekly
Incendiary small-town politics and lethally tangled passions are the focus of this clunky, bloodless collaborative effort from two authors who have each produced better solo work. Piercy (City of Darkness, City of Light) and her husband, Wood (Going Public), have created an irresolute protagonist in David Greene, once a local baseball legend who has now returned to the Cape Cod hamlet of Saltash in disgrace, leaving behind a failed minor league career and a broken marriage. His prospects are dim until he begins an unlikely affair with Judith Silver, a beautiful, talented lawyer whose husband, the eminent professor Gordon Stone, owns an eclectic island compound and is the town's leading progressive politico. Not only does Gordon condone the affair, he joins Judith in persuading David to run for a key seat on the board of selectmen. Their opposition is led by Johnny Lynch, an old-fashioned political boss who has controlled the town for decades. Since David is a congenital pawn with an overactive libido, he can't resist further complicating his situation by also having an affair with desperate, volatile Crystal Sinclair, who works for Lynch; and these oddly lifeless sexual complications combine with meteorological disaster for a predictably bad end. The authors aim for a tale of consuming political and romantic passions with David at its center, but his character is too weak (and the supporting players are too wooden) to execute this tricky game plan. Histrionics aside, the novel does succeed on a lesser scale in its perceptive, stinging depiction of a parochial seaside resort, but this feat is not enough to redeem the air of somnambulance that surrounds its scheming cast.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Library Journal
Piercy, the feminist poet (What Are Big Girls Made Of, LJ 1/97) and novelist (Gone to Soldiers, LJ 4/1/87), and husband Wood (Going Public, LJ 5/1/91), offer a well-written novel, where imperfect people do foolish things with unfortunate results. Each author wrote separate chapters, which they meshed together seamlessly. David, a small-town hero who failed to make baseball's major leagues, returns to Cape Cod 15 years later. He works in his sister's nursery, where he meets Judith and falls under her spell. They begin an affair, one accepted by her cancer-riddled husband. When Judith asks David to run for town selectman, his opponent is backed by Johnny Lynch, who has run the town for years. Enter Crystal, an unstable young woman who uses sex as both reward and spider web. When David tries to break away from the trap, the inevitable tragedy occurs. The ending may be predictable, but getting there is a pleasure; the characters are real, and the well-constructed plot is different enough to hold one's attention. Recommended for popular fiction collections.AAndrea Lee Shuey, Dallas P.L.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
