cover image ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS

ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS

Ellen Sussman, . . Warner, $23.95 (304pp) ISBN 978-0-446-53141-2

In Sussman's heart-wrenching debut, two former high school classmates take a second chance at love, despite one partner's terminal cancer. Resisting the impulse to descend into bathos, Sussman shows remarkable restraint in her depiction of a love affair that transforms a dying woman's last days into a celebration of life. When Luke Bellingham, an acclaimed screenwriter in his 40s, agrees to become "Finder of Lost Souls" for his 25th high school reunion, the only lost classmate he really wants to find is the enigmatic Blair Clemens, whose gang rape at 17 inspired his Oscar-winning screenplay, Pescadero . Suffering from writer's block and his wife's sudden desertion, Luke is thrilled to discover that Blair lives near him in San Francisco. Bohemian Blair is now a single mom as well as chef of a chic restaurant, but beginning a relationship is definitely not on her agenda when she agrees to reconnect with Luke after first meeting his cute dog, Sweetpea. All she wants to do is work, have no-strings sex with her ever-randy ex-hippie landlord and enjoy what's left of her life with her teenage daughter, Amanda. At their initial meeting, the immediately smitten Luke informs her, "On a night like this, I could fall in love," and Blair, frightened by her own attraction, quickly retorts, "Don't bother... I'm dying." The novel's elegant denouement and Sussman's fluid treatment of tough moments make this a keeper for fans of high-caliber weepies. Agent, Elyse Cheney. (Feb. 10)