A Fine Time to Leave Me

Reading this sweet novel by the author of The Preacher's Boy is like watching an ant struggle to carry a crumb across a patio, the experience both super-ordinary and quietly cosmic. Chris Gray, a navy vet, son of a plain Texas farmer, marries Lori Connor, a Baptist-American Princess, daughter of a rich oil man. Together, the aptly named Grays lead a life of quiet desperation and commitment. Tempted to cheat on each other, they never do. Chris fantasizes that he will one day take off on a motorcycle and bum around Europe. Instead, he fathers a child. Lori immerses herself in wallpapering and house decorating in order to keep larger issues at bay. Nothing much happens. And yet, as a profound love grows between these two people, their struggle to maintain their marriage and new family is ennobled. Too tranquil to appeal to everyone, this quiet book may, with luck, find its own appreciative audience. (Mar.)