A Version of the Truth
Jennifer Kaufman, Karen Mack, . . Delacorte, $24 (322pp) ISBN 978-0-385-34019-9
Cassie Shaw, the 30-year-old dyslexic high school dropout narrator of Kaufman and Mack’s follow-up to Literacy and Longing in L.A., is devoid of self-esteem and, as the winsome novel opens, has just been widowed by a jerk who left her nothing but debt. Desperate for a job, Cassie fudges her education background on a job application and snags an entry-level university office job working under William Conner, a charismatic professor of animal behavior who ignites Cassie’s desire for learning—and other things. As Cassie’s lust for knowledge swells and she becomes more involved with Conner, the list of her deceptions lengthens, and it’s only a matter of time until budding beau Conner finds out. Kaufman and Mack lace the narrative with light humor (the rats in California’s Topanga Canyon are like “roaches in NY or liars in LA”) and nods to Emerson, Whitman, Thoreau, Plato and Keats. Delightfully merging humor, philosophy and reflections on nature, this novel is a lot of fun and might give some readers freshman-year flashbacks. (Jan.)
Reviewed on: 10/22/2007
Genre: Fiction
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-1-4233-5142-9
Compact Disc - 978-1-4233-5144-3
Compact Disc - 8 pages - 978-1-4233-5143-6
Compact Disc - 978-1-5012-7199-1
MP3 CD - 978-1-4233-5145-0
MP3 CD - 978-1-4233-5146-7
MP3 CD - 978-1-5012-8677-3
Mass Market Paperbound - 322 pages - 978-0-553-59225-2
Paperback - 336 pages - 978-0-385-34020-5
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-60640-796-7
