The Slow Way Back

Evolved from personal essays Goldman delivered as an NPR commentator, this poignant debut novel plumbs the rift created by parental favoritism in a Southern Jewish family plagued by buried secrets and resentments. The heroine, Charlotte, N.C., radio therapist Thea McKee, recalls trying on her mother's wedding dress at the age of 10--and her usually adoring mother's violent reaction. The incident leaves questions in Thea's mind that deepen as she matures. She wonders why her father favors her sister, Mickey, why her mother has bouts of depression. When she is in her 50s, a packet of her grandmother's letters come into Thea's hands. They open doors to the past, reminding her of her Jewish roots (almost forgotten in an interfaith marriage) and her Southern heritage (almost invisible in the midst of modern city life). Answers come slowly: first Thea must find someone to translate the letters, written by her grandmother in Yiddish in the 1930s, when Grandma Bella lived in Denmark, S.C., and sent to her sister in Pennsylvania. Even then, the letters are confusing, and she must seek explanations from her chatty yet uninformative Aunt Florence. With an ear for rhythm and an eye for imagery, Goldman artfully presents Grandma Bella's simple, stilted prose, typical of a woman of her generation and immigrant background. Bella's correspondence conveys quotidian details, but a postscript to one of them holds a clue to a traumatic event--and the answers to Thea's questions. Convincing details--recipes, clothing, endearments, jealousies--distinguish three generations of sisters as old wounds are reopened, intimacies shared and prejudices combated. Despite some first-novel pitfalls (easily guessed mysteries, overly emotional epiphanies), Goldman's vivid sensory descriptions and psychological honesty--especially sharp when Thea remembers the last illnesses of her parents--mark her as a touching storyteller and an astute observer of human nature. Agent, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. Author tour. (Sept.)