Barbara Haynie, Falling Through the Cracks

Falling Through the Cracks

Barbara Haynie

Five Star, Sep 2005, $26.95, 271 pp.

ISBN: 1594143846

The two surviving Bloom triplets (Rose died at birth), have lived a very good life until Lily tries to kill herself over a boyfriend; deadhead Iris knows she cannot cope because she is so shook up. She flees her relatively happy middle class Colorado home. On the road she meets Oregonian environmental activist Blair Jaeger fleeing a situation that went wrong. They journey together stopping in San Vacio, Mexico for some needed respite.

The hotel is a dump so Iris asks elderly ailing American expatriate Henry Whitman if they can rent his other house that he owns since he only uses one. Henry was going to refuse until she notices and comments about his Scrabble board. As they play Scrabble every night, a warm relationship forms until he begins to show signs similar to Lily's. Iris wants to flee out of fear for what Henry might do. She has no one to turn to as Blair is off to his next environmental event and the married doctor that she is half in love with ignores her. She soon realizes she needs to be with kindhearted dying Henry who has given her back her life one tile at a time.

FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS is a deep character study that focuses predominately on Henry and Iris as each find a way to live through their warm relationship. The story line enables the audience to comprehend why Iris fled Colorado and is considering running away before Henry dies, but she has matured so plans to be there for the person who was there for her. Barbara Haynie provides a deep look at people nurturing one another during a time of crisis.

Harriet Klausner