Missile Paradise

The three close but not completely connected story lines in Tanner's latest novel center on the Marshall Islands after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., and the intersecting lives of the native Marshallese people and the Americans stationed there. Living on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean might sound like paradise, but the reality for Tanner's characters is a lot bleaker. The island nation is a place of post-colonial struggle, with 30% unemployment and one of the highest suicide rates in the world. As if nuclear warfare and global warming aren't threatening enough, cultural tensions between the Americans and the natives are getting worse. Cooper, a computer programmer assigned to work on nuclear defense systems, loses his leg in a freak sailing accident before his first day on the job. Alison, an alcoholic widow with two young sons, questions whether she will ever return to the U.S. while holding onto hope that the body of her drowned husband will eventually be found. Jeton is a teenage island native who feels his world has ended when his American girlfriend leaves him for college and a better future. Tanner (From Animal House to Our House) is at his best when depicting the very human flaws, obsessions, and prejudices his characters face, all against a vivid island background where summer never seems to end and social progress is at a standstill. (Apr.)