Sam's Crossing

First novelist Hays offers a fresh, humorous and discerning portrait of 30-something life in Atlanta. Kate and Sam, a couple for four years, agonize over their next step. Kate, a social worker in the neonatal unit of a hospital, wants to have a baby. Sam, a would-be writer and bookstore clerk, doesn't want to lose her, but fears he's not up to the challenge of fatherhood and family. When she leaves him, the devastated Sam spends six months learning how to cope with his loneliness, Kate's new relationship with a doctor colleague and the redheaded woman who keeps popping up in his life. His continued love for Kate makes possible a surprise ending which proves that life doesn't always lend itself to simple solutions. Hays enlivens an already absorbing narrative with a colorful cast of characters, including Kate's aimless brother, her adventure-seeking mother, Sam's co-workers and the blissfully married Rose and Lamar, who extol the virtues of parenthood. The novel could be stronger in its weightier moments, but overall it is a perceptive and vivid debut. (Jan.)