From Publishers Weekly
Madness, alcoholism, suicide, aging, parental betrayal, politics and Vietnam are all part of Miner's ( All Good Women ) ambitious but flawed story of one young woman's exile and return. In 1968, with her two brothers serving in Vietnam, Cora Casey made a radical departure from her family's conservative, working-class patriotism and became embroiled in an arson that resulted in the death of her co-conspirator. Disowned by her father for her radical politics, fearful of legal retribution and pregnant by one of her lovers, Cora leaves for Canada. But 20 years later, as her father is dying of cancer, she returns home with her daughter--despite fears of being arrested. Through rapid cuts--to Cora's present, to her college years, to a recent, settled past in Canada, and to her troubled childhood--Miner peels back the layers of family secrets that shaped her protagonist. If anything, Miner is too ambitious, stuffing more psychological, moral, emotional and political baggage into the book than her intimate story can handle. Nor does her language make up for it with strain showing in both narrative ("Cora began to lose weight. Even George commented on her lighter way of being.") and dialogue ("How did you get so knowledgeable about these European groups, Ralph?"). But she does have a feeling for the trappings of an era, surrounding Cora with scratchy Mary Wells records, Salvation Army kitchen utensils and the smell of sour coffee.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Kirkus Reviews
In her seventh book of fiction Miner (Trespassing, 1989, etc.) continues her exploration of socially conscious women from the 1960s to the present day. Motherless since she was eight, Cora (as in Lear's Cordelia) enters college on scholarships, despite her working-class roots and her father's scorn. While her brothers rush off to Vietnam, Cora joins in draft-card burnings and ends up involved in a friend's suicide. She escapes to Canada. Her typically American (and proud of it) family disowns her. Twenty years later, when this novel opens, her own daughter is almost grown, her father is near death and--risking prison for arson and possibly murder- -she's come home to care for him. The tables have turned, and he looks toward this prodigal child as his savior. His two sons have inherited his money (and presumably used large sums to support a radical right-wing organization that stands for everything Cora opposes), and they're trying to ship him off to a nursing home and to sell his house right out from under his sickbed. Brief, carefully dated and located sections hop erratically through three periods in Cora's life: 1988 (Canada to Oregon, Cora's decision to come home and her homecoming); the late 1960s (Cora's college years, the conflicts and break with her family); the early 1950s (Cora's memory of her mother spurs other innocent family memories that, in retrospect, give clues to the future). Composed of many short passages, this text reveals Miner's gift for ending scenes with a memorable image; but while these poetic moments work perfectly in isolation, they are sometimes too powerful to admit needed segues. This, combined with a nonlinear narrative, can be disconcerting. Many women have written moving novels about draft protests, flight to Canada, and returning home, but few have focused so intensely on familial issues. In its best moments, this tale of love, trust, and betrayal reaches beyond political ideals. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
