The Last to Go: A Novel - Softcover

Appropriately subtitled, Cooper's first novel is a depiction of the dissolution of a seemingly perfect union. Everyone predicted that Dan and Mary Ellen Slattery's marriage would certainly be "the last to go." However, after 25 years of marriage, Dan finds himself depressed and disinterested in his life. The marital break-up that results is described from a number of different vantage points, beginning with a straightforward narrative and then switching from son to each daughter to neighbor. Although it offers a diversity of perspectives, this approach is not wholly successful: Transitions are sometimes confusing, and the reader is left wondering who is speaking and, in some cases, why. Kimberly G. Allen, Georgetown Univ. Law Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"This fine first novel, chronicling the fortunes and misfortunes of two generations of the Slattery family, documents suburbia in Cheeveresque terms," praised PW . "Ironic, accurately observed and captivating, it is a first-rate piece of work."
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.