As I tried to finish Cost
I suppose I should classify this novel as another piece of “professor literature.” Both of the parents, Wendell and Julia, are professors. They are now divorced, and Julia got the summer house in Maine. I love how professors in books always have a summer house in Maine. Julia is an art history professor and an artist with a studio at the house, so the location plays an important role in the plot. As the novel opens, Julia has invited her aging parents for a visit and is tense about having them in the house. In the beginning, each chapter is from a different character’s point of view. At first I resisted this because I had just finished another novel with the same conceit.
Fortunately, I didn’t let the slow opening stop me. The novel picks up with the introduction of Jack, Julia’s son. Jack is addicted to heroin. While the plot keeps the reader asking, “will he come clean?” and “how bad will it get for the family?”, Robinson uses the situation to explore all of the dynamics of this stiff and distant family. I kept making bargains to spend more time reading because I never knew where the next insight would come from. By pacing the first two-thirds of the novel over the space of three days, Robinson shows how families negotiate the morass of their past while shuffling through the day-by-day minutiae of ordinary life. The big revelations come, not with the big scenes, but in the time the characters must spend waiting and worrying.I found this much more realistic than some of the shouting scenes you get in Hollywood films about families. Because Robinson shifts from the interior thoughts of one character to the next, she’s also able to capture how one family member may have an important insight, but choose not to share it. This would be nearly impossible to capture in a film, but again is a realistic depiction of family life.
For me, this was a thoroughly satisfying book. It was a delight to read such a carefully planned and plotted novel. All the laundry may not be folded, but now I have some good food for thought when I do get to it. As I sort socks, I’ll also be sorting out how the title word, “cost,” played out for each member of the family. What did Jack’s addiction cost, literally and metaphorically? I realize now how thoroughly Robinson drew me into the world of her characters. As each bargained for Jack’s life, I made all those little bargains to keep reading.
. Click over to 
Last Thursday while driving to work, I decided to procrastinate just another hour or so. I had purchased all my supplies for my tenure dossier and should have been chomping at the bit. But, before I started sorting through syllabi, e-mail, and committee meeting minutes, I wanted a little slack time. I sneaked off to Barnes and Noble and purchased 
As 
made the publicity rounds, I caught 
Early on in graduate school, I was an insufferable snob. I only read fiction worthy of being labeled “Literature” with a capital “L.” I worked at a chain bookstore at the mall and silently grimaced at each customer who happily paid for a stack of romance or mystery paperbacks. Oh, what they were missing! If someone asked for a recommendation, I’d offer up Morrison or McCarthy or someone else who was suitably ’serious.’ Then, one day, I was rushing through the airport, late for an international flight. I hastily bought a frothy , British version of the newly-developing chick lit genre. I had finished all my serious reading on vacation and couldn’t endure a seven-hour flight empty-handed.
. Center’s heroine, Lanie, has three small children and has just moved to a new town. Her struggle to find her own identity again outside of motherhood is all to relatable. Evan as “just a stepmom,” I find myself spending days doing nothing but laundry and dishes. I can only imagine what it is like to constantly care for three little kids. Center manages to capture the everyday details of motherhood with vivid accuracy. Her writing is honest, compassionate, and compelling. When I put the book down and mopped up my tears, I felt ready to spend a little more time chasing my own dreams and a little less time unloading the dishwasher.
Thanks 
Thanks 
