Kim McLarin Jump at the Sun

Jump at the Sun

Kim McLarin

Morrow, Jul 2006, $24.95

ISBN 0060528494

Ph.D. Grace Jefferson seems to be living the American dream. Her husband adores her and her two delightful daughters cherish her. They reside in a wonderfully large suburban home in the Boston area where her spouse is a highly regarded scientist and their kids attend the best schools.

So Grace asks herself why she is unhappy. Perhaps it is in her DNA to want to flee family responsibility as her sharecropping Grandma Rae did in Mississippi and her mom Mattie did not. In fact she wonders if she fears she is sacrificing her life for her family just like Mattie did. Though guilt threatens to suffocate her thoughts, Grace knows she loves her husband and their two children though currently their nagging demands are driving her crazy as she considers leaving the nest like Rae did and Mattie did not; grandma seemed to have pursued happiness while mom sacrificed hers.

JUMP AT THE SUN is a deep character study starring a fascinating woman who feels conflicting emotions that make any decisions difficult and somewhat unsatisfactory. Grace is a superb character as she is the epitome of Martin Luther King's I have a Dream with her education and her lifestyle but has doubts that is all there is as she is unhappy with her upper middle class existence. Though she openly detests de jure prejudice and proud of her state rejecting gay bashing laws like legally limiting marriages (Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the country) and de facto prejudice (racial and gender poverty), Grace struggles with a deeper personal disaffection in this excellent thought provoking drama.

Harriet Klausner