The Daughters of Simon Lamoreaux

As he demonstrated in his previous novel, Falling Boy, Long has an affinity for describing sibling relationships, particularly those among sisters. He also effectively defines the sudden moments when one's life takes an unexpected turn. Here he explores both themes, in a poignant yet restrained story about survivors of a tragic loss--the disappearance of a loved one. Miles Fanning, a Connecticut prep school senior in 1973, made an appointment to meet his girlfriend, Carly Lamoreaux, during a break in choir practice. She failed to show up--and vanished without a trace. Since then, Fanning has lived in a state of emotional limbo. Now, 24 years later, he has founded a record label in Seattle, but he is recently separated from his wife, who's exasperated by his detachment and reserve. Out of the blue comes an e-mail from Carly's younger sister, Julia, that draws Fanning back into a part of his life he has never been able to confront. Via telephone, e-mail and several face-to-face meetings, Julia's quixotic quest to define the details of her missing sister's existence brings together two damaged people who eventually find comfort in sharing their past. Julia is acerbic, confrontational, a chain smoker and obsessively compelled to talk about the dynamics of the Lamoreaux household, before and after Carly's disappearance. The father, Simon, was a disciple of a fundamentalist church; Long's ability to engender sympathy for a rigidly rectitudinous man whose stoic grief and despair slowly erode his belief in salvation is accomplished with lyrical, haunting simplicity. Unfortunately, Fanning's imaginative reconstruction of the probable events of Carly's last day fails to convince the reader, and the novel suffers a critical lapse of credibility. Nonetheless, this is a richly suggestive narrative sensitively exploring the ironies of unfulfilled lives. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.]