Ashes of Roses

Wrapped with some of the standard details of women's fiction, Purcell's (That Childhood Country) third novel is anything but a standard read. Set on the Irish Coast, against the whispery backdrop of WWII, Ashes of Roses offers a fine and deeply felt investigation into the complex emotional lives of its characters. While still in her teens, Elizabeth Sullivan falls head-over-heels in love with a glamorous showman and quickly learns the meaning of love and betrayal. Her parents, fearful of social censure, marry the pregnant Elizabeth off to a widowed farmer with four children. It is a steady, dull life and Elizabeth makes the best of it until a younger man rekindles her passions. A confrontation between Elizabeth's spouse and her would-be lover leaves her husband dead and her lover accused of murder. When the neighboring farmer offers to clear the lover's name in exchange for her hand in marriage and ownership of the farm, Elizabeth reciprocates with a bargain of her own: a marriage in name only to take place a year and a day from the date of her husband's death, separate housing and total freedom. This year-long hiatus-and a tragic accident involving her children-forces Elizabeth to confront the reality of her attitudes toward love and desire. In an ironic twist, the story comes to a slightly rushed but romantic conclusion that will leave readers closing the book with a smile. (Dec.)