A Loving Place

Seventy-four-year-old Murray Farber, former union organizer turned bookie, later a toy-store owner in Brooklyn, has retired to Florida. We discover him in a state of panic at the Sunset Shopping Mallfirst because of his missing wallet, then at the sudden pain and thumping of his heartis this It? A chance encounter with an old Brooklyn neighbor both calms Murray and bails him out, but for the next two days he's awash in haunting memories of the varieties of love in his life: youthful fascination for Lucas Malloy who had farmed the land that later was Murray's street; admiration for Sam Bright, the ex-slave Lucas brought North after the Civil War; his passion for Lucas's daughter, Mary; the warmth of his enduring marriage to Irene; tenderness for their children, Danny and Leslie. The restless ghosts crowding his insomniac nights recede somewhat with a Brooklyn reunion dinner, but are only temporarily appeased. During a troubled visit from Danny, Murray draws on his past as a well of empathy, and a longed-for intimacy takes root between father and son. A tender, subtle, unpretentious tale by the author of Old World, New World. 25,000 first printing; $25,000 ad/promo. Foreign rights: ICM.February 28