Extremely tall, bicycle-riding and more than a little unorthodox, the Rev. Jordanna Nash embarks on a rich and compelling spiritual journey in this second novel by Basch (Degrees of Love). After bearing two stillborn children, Jordanna's marriage is on the rocks. With her Jewish husband, Daniel, in New Zealand on an academic sabbatical, she seeks a change and accepts the post of minister at the Hutchinson Congregational Church in Hutchinson, Conn., where her sister and family live. Her work, however, brings fresh troubles: a suicidal woman Jordanna has been counseling disappears, and a teenager in her youth group gets pregnant and contemplates an abortion. Lawsuits lurk in the wings. With her personal and professional life in shambles, 43-year-old Jordanna believes she is a "spiritual Typhoid Mary," incapable of loving anyone or dealing with her own grief. Railing against her circumstances, she sneaks cigarettes from a stash in the refrigerator and wonders, "Was there a limit to what you could lose? Did God ever just say, enough and no more?" A host of recognizable, memorable supporting characters round out the cast of this frank, open and theologically nuanced tale: Jordanna's sister, Abby, with her long-buried feelings of inferiority to her larger-than-life sibling; Abby's children; Abby's husband; and the members of Jordanna's congregation. But the novel's trump card is the character of Jordanna herself. She is smart, caring and fallible, and her struggles are real. Through her, the reader glimpses the human heart in its pain and triumph. (July)
Forecast:Few overtly religious novels come from the liberal side of the spectrum, and this should find an eager audience among fans of spiritual fiction, while also appealing to a general readership. A New England tour will help drum up regional interest.
