Milk - Hardcover

Upon learning of her pregnancy, Theodora ("Theo") Mapes, a freelance catalogue copywriter, flees her husband, Jackson, and their Colorado home for Southern California and her family roots. The twin traumas of her childhood the death of an infant sister and her mother's suicide when Theo was seven years old linger with an almost physical presence, incessantly invading her thoughts and imprinting themselves on the novel's action. Still reeling emotionally, she starts an affair with Gregg, an old boyfriend, and attempts to decipher the reasons for her mother's suicide. Theo finds her father and brother taciturn on the subject, both having buried the tragedy beneath the trappings of financial success and new families. But Theo obsesses over her barely remembered mother, discovering medical records and personal letters that gradually reveal a history of intergenerational incest. Hammond, the author of Breathe Something Nice, a collection of stories, paints in broad, plain strokes, assiduously avoiding sentimentality. However, Theo is a woman flooded with emotion; she lives in a psychologically tumultuous state. Hammond relies primarily on dialogue to convey this feeling; she also uses flashbacks to fill in some of the blanks. The writing achieves a solid if unspectacular level that just can't convey the intended emotional impact of the narrative. The novel, ambitious in scope, suffers mainly from this dichotomy between plot and voice, as well as thinly drawn male characters (Gregg and Jackson remain little more than ciphers). What could have been an intriguing exploration of family emerges as a rather ordinary story with its potential unfulfilled. Agent, Kit Ward.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The long-term effects of a baby sister's death and a mother's suicide thread through this novel like a secret webbing, invisible but ever-present, providing unseen barriers to movement and happiness. Theodora Mapes, pregnant, leaves her husband in Colorado to return to her California hometown. Her father, brother, and mother's sister have built their lives around not knowing or not asking what happened in the past. Self-deception props them up so they can face the rest of life. Theo actively seeks the truth, rejecting her husband in the process and finding comfort in old relationships. The inevitable progress of the pregnancy mirrors the progress of her exploration, culminating with both an unexpected message from her mother and her daughter's birth. Giving birth reorders the universe for Theo, and her milk provides both nourishment for her baby and solace for her soul. Sad, funny, and startling in turn, this strong and appealing first novel explores family horrors and abiding love through unique and engaging characters. Danise Hoover
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