Author Amanda Eyre Ward writes in the language of families, capturing their penchant for loss and possibility of redemption.
I read "How to Be Lost," overcoming my local's fear that a novel set in New Orleans will feature crime solving magnolias. Thankfully, I found the main character Caroline, a cocktail waitress whose younger sister has been missing since childhood, to be authentic and engaging.
Ward spent time as a New Orleans resident and it shows the way she writes Caroline describing the details of her life:
"It's hot," I said. " Anthony waited. "It's wild," I said, "like another country. Normal rules don't apply" ... "And people drop things on the ground. Like, I think I've had enough of this sandwich. I'll just drop the rest on the sidewalk!""Good place for dogs, then," said Anthony.
The story ends in Holt, New York, also the setting of Ward's latest book "Close Your Eyes." The book focuses on families and friendships, but adds a darker bonds between friends -- think Heavenly Creatures. Ward's home, Austin, is almost a character in the first half of the novel. Not being a resident it gave me a glimpse into the spirit of the city.
A mystery winds through "Close Your Eyes." Main character Lauren spends the book delving into her memories of her father, an Egyptian poet who has been convicted of murdering her mother.
Ward has a deft hand with crafting endearing characters. When Lauren finally sees a therapist to begin dealing with her childhood memories, she says: "I don't mean to hurt your feelings. But I think this couch is just too big. And all this talking, it's just making me feel kind of nauseated."
Ward based the book on a murder in her hometown and has described using it as inspiration.
"I think, in writing the book, I wanted not only to understand what happened to a boy who was one of us, what made him into a murderer, but also to create a world where this wrong was righted, and a broken town was sewn back together. I wanted to imagine a town that was loving and safe, a place that might never have existed in real life."
Follow Karen Dalton-Beninato on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kbeninato
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