Dealing with loss is the common theme that runs through Ciabattari's solid debut collection, a wide-ranging exploration that begins in the title story, as a woman tries to cope with the death of her father, a prominent author and professor. Vowing to find her own voice as a writer, she experiences a sense of renewal in the midst of her grief and desolation. Loss permeates the best story in the collection, "A Pilgrimage," which describes the journey of a middle-aged California widow to El Salvador on a mission of mercy as she tries to help a teenager by bringing the girl's mother to the U.S. Caught up and captured in the civil war, she experiences a brutal loss of innocence, but also a new commitment to life. Post-relationship losses get thoughtful treatment as well, most notably in "Once in a Blue Moon," in which a woman reconnects musically with her ex when she encounters him performing at a Montreal blues concert. Ciabattari is equally sensitive to male protagonists, first in the wild "Payback Time," as a Silicon Valley executive gets hustled and then ousted from his job in a fast-paced, fast-lane deal, and more quietly in "Wintering in Montauk," as a young man approaching his 30th birthday returns home to his parent's house on Long Island to confront a string of failures. Ciabattari displays a deft sense of control throughout, balancing character, dialogue and scene construction with assurance. While the general motif makes some of the tales relatively predictable, she does offer more interesting twists and turns as the collection unfolds. This book makes a strong first step toward earning both an audience and critical praise for Ciabattari.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In her debut collection, Ciabattari presents nine well-written stories that empathetically explore how change affects our lives. A lost job, the death of parent or spouse, the arrest of an adult child, and a shipwrecked relationship are just a few of the scenarios readers will experience. Ciabattari, a contributing editor for Parade magazine, crafts tales filled with second guesses that enable the reader to visit unfortunate situations but come away appreciating how choice and chance affect the human experience. "A Pilgrimage" reveals the unfortunate consequences of a widow's trip to El Salvador in search of a peasant woman. "Wintering on Montauk" involves a 30-year-old who retreats to his parents' coastal summer home in the off-season to face the elements and events that have shaped his life. "Once in a Blue Moon" tells of Liza, a successful businesswoman who flirts with recapturing her reckless past when she sees an old boyfriend singing the blues onstage at a music festival. Ciabattari's word choice is simple yet powerful, and it is this power that distinguishes her fiction. Writers and readers of literary fiction will enjoy these stories. Recommended for public libraries and academic literature collections. Joyce Sparrow, Juvenile Welfare Board Lib., Pinellas Park, FL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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