Heidi Pitlor Birthdays

Birthdays

Heidi Pitlor

Norton, Jun 2006, $23.95

ISBN: 0393061272

The Miller family is meeting on a Maine barrier island to spend time together while celebrating the seventy-fifth birthday of Joe, the patriarch. There is plenty of excitement as this gathering is the first in four years and the daughter and the two wives of the sons are pregnant each expecting their first child.

However, not all is great in Mudville. Daniel has been wheelchair bound since a cycling accident left him a paraplegic; he is unable to cope with the fact that his spouse had to be artificially inseminated with the sperm of some Midwestern hunk instead of by him. In spite of being the most successful of the siblings, at least financially, Jake feels inferior; his wife is carrying twins following fertility treatment and he has lost all interest in her as a person especially as his sex partner. Hilary has no idea who the father of the fetus she carries might be and does not care.

This is a terrific family drama starring a strong ensemble cast in which the seven key players bring differing personalities to the table as they each discuss parenthood, their trepidations, and their lives. The key to this powerful tale is that Heidi Pitlor insures each individual has a unique personality that remains consistent throughout the beguiling plot. Fans who enjoy a deep look at relationships including how children radically change the interactions of their parents will want to read Ms. Pitlor's strong novel.

Harriet Klausner