From Publishers Weekly
Quirky characters spend much of their time thinking disjointed thoughts and acting on scattered ideas in Cooney's likable but unfocused fourth novel (after The Old Ballerina). Tara Barlow is a young Massachusetts woman who has every aspect of her life planned down to the slightest detail, including her upcoming wedding. But when her chosen site for the nuptials burns to the ground four months before the big day, Tara calmly hops into her Mustang and takes off for parts unknown (" 'I'll go west,' she decided. 'I'll go west like the setting sun' "), leaving behind no clue to her whereabouts. She doesn't get much farther than the next town over before the book's viewpoint switches to that of Guida Santucci, the local psychic who is hired to track Tara down ("I was Italian, and I was Catholic, and I was fat. And one day, it was raining," begins Guida's narrative about her discovery of her oracular powers). Guida does manage to find Tara, although it is through old-fashioned detective work rather than third-eye divination. To the amazement of both the 53-year-old Guida and the 24-year-old Tara, a strong mutual attraction immediately develops. The novel is marred by Cooney's tendency to wander off the subject as the characters slip into frequent flashbacks. Though not everyone will go for Cooney's stylized cast of eccentrics, the affair between Guida and Tara is sweetly rendered and their dizzy interior lives possess a whimsical charm. (Sept.)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Tara, who calls herself "TB--like the disease," is about to have her dream wedding, complete with roast beef, emerald high heels, "slutty" silver-glitter eye shadow, and red pantyhose and bra beneath a thin, white bridal gown. But the beautiful old White Cliffs restaurant, her cherished venue for the event, burns to the ground. Shattered, she leaves town with a note to her parents to tell her fiance, Tommy, that she is calling the whole thing off, which isn't a bad idea, since it has already crossed her mind that what she really wanted was a wedding, not a marriage. Meanwhile, the local psychic, Signora Guida Santucci, equally devastated by the fire (why hadn't she foreseen it?), refuses job offers thereafter yet agrees to help Tara's parents locate her. Following her instinct that Tara is still in Massachusetts, Guida finds her, and both women are surprised by their mutual attraction. But can they find true love and happiness? Many will want to find out from a novel this fresh and engaging. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
Can they find true love and happiness? Many will want to find out from a novel this fresh and engaging. -- Booklist, September 15, 2002
Cooney truly has her finger on the pulse of human nature, and can make the strangest things feel completely logical. -- txtriangle.com
Ellen Cooney has written a hilarious book about two women falling in love. -- NewPages.com
Subtle and hilarious, without being cynical or cruel...Thelma & Louise and an inversion of The Graduate. -- The Rake, December 2002
[T]he affair between Guida and Tara is sweetly rendered and their dizzy interior lives possess a whimsical charm. -- Publishers Weekly, August 5, 2002
About the Author
Ellen Cooney was born in Clinton, Massachusetts and attended Worcester State College and Clark University. Besides The White Palazzo, she is the author of three novels: Small Town Girl, All the Way Home, and The Old Ballerina. Her short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, The Literary Review, Glimmer Train, and Fiction. They have also been listed several times in Best American Short Stories. She has taught creative writing at MIT and Harvard, and now lives in mid-coast Maine.
