Almost Strangers

""How many parts of yourself can you lose... and still be yourself?"" Two women, both in love with the same man, lose much in this melodramatic first novel of self-discovery by short story writer Winer. Once happily independent, 40-year-old Ursula Gant takes stock of her life after the loss of her beloved mother, Ruth, and begins a rapid slide into depression. Ursula lives alone in Boston on the income from her mother's investments, meticulously managed by New Yorker Daniel Dorfman. Daniel is married to the beautiful, insecure Cissy, but has been having an affair with Ursula for two years. When Daniel fails to respond to her pleas for help, Ursula knows she must make changes and catches the next flight to anywhere, which happens to be Athens. Ursula doesn't realize that Cissy knows about the affair and has followed her onto the plane, intending to kill Ursula in Greece. When the plane crashes, Cissy's body is never found, and she is declared legally dead. Ursula, severely burned, is afflicted with total amnesia. After her face and body have been reconstructed, she sets out to discover who she is, assuming the name of Lucy Snowe (there are many literary references). As Lucy travels through Europe, she keeps sighting a beautiful blonde woman, and it quickly becomes clear to the reader that the woman is Cissy, who miraculously walked away from the plane crash and has started a new life in Europe. The two begin an uneasy friendship based on their mutual need for companionship and understanding. This unlikely partnership leads each woman to self-realization and an understanding of who they want to be. Despite its many improbabilities, the novel exhibits some strong writing and provocative ideas. It's not a denigration to call this an intelligent women's book, and as such, it has significant potential for word-of-mouth sales. Agent, Lisa Bankoff. (Oct.)