Mary Ann Taylor-Hall's At the Breakers!


I want to give a shout out for Mary Ann Taylor-Hall's new novel At the Breakers. I ran into Mary Ann at the 2009 Kentucky State Book Fair right before Thanksgiving and snatched her book as a holiday present for myself. I decided settling down to read it would be a well-deserved reward for finishing my Christmas shopping. Of course, that meant I wasn't able to open it until after December 25 (I even managed to put off my last minute shopping until the day of - tearing through a liquor store I found open!)
But, it was worth the wait. The novel, that is. The day after Christmas, I collapsed in a chair and read the book from cover to cover.
I admire the way Mary Ann captures the complexities and mysteries of mothering and found her portrayal of the teen-aged daughter Wendy to be one of the truest characters I've ever read. The writing is lush and lovely, descriptive without becoming tiresome. And then there is the wonderful Victor Mangold, Jo's love interest, and a poet at that! I feel as if I've visited his New York apartment. If any of this is your subject material (or your life), you'll enjoy this read.

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