Kissing the Wind

This posthumously published novel from Hotchner (Papa Hemingway) is a charming drama whose protagonist struggles with Charles Bonnet syndrome, as did Hotchner himself. Chet Tremaine is a successful New York lawyer who is rendered blind in his right eye after suffering an eye injury while paying tennis with his fiancée’s father. Soon, he begins to see strange things: pine needles on his food, a metal grid over the toilet bowl, and strangers walking through his door and parading about his living room. After he is diagnosed with Charles Bonnet syndrome, a rare disorder that causes hallucinations in the blind or partially blind, he breaks up with his fiancée, meets with an esteemed neurologist, and flies to Nepal in an unorthodox effort to get spiritual help. Despite his efforts, Chet’s hallucinations threaten his career and make him despair of ever leading a normal life. But then Chet meets Emma, a beautiful actor, and is drawn to her immediately. And when he learns Emma is hampered by rare, life-threatening Meniere’s disease, he must decide whether love can sustain their passionate yet tenuous pairing. Hotchner’s fans will love this endeaering capstone to a venerable literary career. (Sept.)