Secret Language

Wood's debut novel is a fiercely lyrical study of two sisters, inseparable yet emotionally distant in childhood, who against all odds grow close as adults. Faith and Connie Spaulding move from city to city with their parents, Billy and Delle, self-centered and unloving actors who quarrel violently. The thespian duo die due to carelessness and alcohol abuse while the girls are in their teens. After Faith becomes a medical secretary in Maine and marries Joe, a machinist, and Connie becomes a flight attendant, the sisters drift apart. Wood's portrayal of Faith, who feels ``caught in the wrong life''--her husband's love hard for her to accept, her two sons mysteries to her--is especially affecting. When Isadora, a half-sister from Brooklyn whom Faith and Connie never knew existed, suddenly barges into their lives, Connie eagerly embraces her. An aspiring blues singer, Isadora turns out to be a shameless publicity-seeker. But her intrusion, a divorce and a tragic accident will reunite Faith and Connie. Wood, whose fiction has appeared in Redbook and other publications, writes with sensitivity and intuitive insight about relationships coming apart and the walls people erect to keep others out. (Feb.)