Supporting the Sky

Family relationships limned with humor and sympathy, pitch-perfect dialogue and an infallible sense of place distinguish Griffith's entertaining third novel (after The World Around Midnight). Tracing several months in the life of narrator Rosemary Kenney, a single mother living in a racially diverse section of Washington, D.C., the narrative has a seductive pull as Griffith expertly entwines several plot elements. She captures the essence of the city with palpable descriptions (the ""cloying sweetness of confederate jasmine"" in August), an intimate historical sense (""...older people tell about the days when they cut across the White House lawn on their way to town"") and a lighthearted self-awareness. This wit fully extends to Rosemary's description of her own life with her pretty, alarmingly rebellious 16-year-old daughter, Shelley; her sometimes morally questionable work at a public relations firm; her gentle attitude towards her daffy ex-husband, who has returned to Texas (the family's original home); and her volunteer work with a neighborhood watch group. The story is neatly propelled by mounting conflicts in all of these situations. D.C.'s phenomenal violence is adroitly handled, first as background noise, later as an incident integral to the plot. Griffith's flair for dialogue and sharp characterization reaches beyond her heroine (Shelly and Dee sound and act exactly like teenagers), and her feather-light touch can alight on poignant notes, as when semi-heartbroken Rosemary wonders: ""Could it be that we were of an age when life was more important than love?"" (July)