At first, the book seemed a little slow. But not the case...keep going.
The characters are painted vividly; the plot interesting, compelling, real.
Here is a quote from the NYTimes Book Review by Lisl Schillinger that sums up the themes beautifully:
"Here Prose uses the exaggerated failings of an ideological extremist to expose the wishy-washy but more pervasive moral failures of contemporary America: detached or absent fathers; frantic, overworked mothers; undernurtured children; checkbook philanthropy; media hypocrisy; the shortage of local heroes willing to help the people around them. But for all of that, the novel isn't a sermon or a lecture. Prose doesn't sit in judgment; instead, she holds a mirror up to her characters, reflecting both their imperfections and their charms."The ending?
I won't say. I was so curious to see how Francine would wrap it up. I was surprised!
