cover image THE ZYGOTE CHRONICLES

THE ZYGOTE CHRONICLES

Suzanne Finnamore, . . Grove, $22 (128pp) ISBN 978-0-8021-1706-9

As she proved in her first novel, Otherwise Engaged, Finnamore knows how to tickle the funny bone. In her second book, the womb is the anatomical part that's the focus of her attention. With witty insights, a mother-to-be narrates the journey of her first pregnancy in the form of journal entries to her baby-to-be. At 38, the narrator is borderline terrified about having a baby later than most, and she expresses her insecurities about and observations on the process with comic abandon. She also questions whether the advertising career where she's achieved the heady titles of v-p and creative director, will disappear the moment she gives birth. And as a parent, can she do better than her frequently unemployed, usually drunk dad? Under physical and psychological stress, she sometimes flares up at her 49-year-old husband, who remains loving and steadfast throughout, although he is a bit of a dreamy ghost figure until the big day. Another anchor is her best friend, Diana, who is expecting her second child at the same time. They cheerlead each other on through the many phases of pregnancy including that of "beached whale." For all her neurotic complaints, there is a sincere sweetness to the heroine's complaints. The plot, while straightforward, is nuanced by the narrator's sad thoughts of a long-ago abortion and her complicated, touching memories of her family. Alert readers will note that the character's newborn bears the same initial as the dedication, "To P," surely the author's child, and perhaps the reason that this witty and poignant chronicle rings true. Agent, Kim Witherspoon. 4-city author tour. (Feb. 2)

FYI:Michael J. Fox has bought the TV rights to Otherwise Engaged, for which Finnamore is writing the pilot.