Eden

Kleine’s fascinating second novel (after Calf) follows Hope, a struggling New York City playwright in her 30s. Her affordable sublet situation has just been derailed by the unexpected return of the owner. Having lost her girlfriend of seven years, her mom to cancer, and now her apartment, Hope is adrift. But Hope’s story goes deeper: as teenagers, she and her older sister, Eden, were abducted by a man named Larry who posed as their father’s friend in order to lure them into his truck. Hope receives a letter from the district attorney’s office notifying her that Larry is up for parole—but if she or Eden could provide any previously unshared details of their abduction, they could help keep Larry in prison. The problem is that neither Hope nor anyone else in her family has been in touch with Eden for decades, and it seems Eden intends to keep it that way. Hope embarks on a cross-country trip to find Eden, driven partly by Larry’s upcoming parole and partly by the desire to see her sister again so they can perhaps finally move on from their past. Driving her father’s old camper van and making pit stops in D.C., Virginia, and Arizona, Hope must turn to a number of people, including her ex-girlfriend, Hope and Eden’s father and his new girlfriend, and Eden’s ex-lover, for assistance along the way. Kleine’s novel is somewhat overambitious and stuffed with a few too many characters and narrative threads, but what ultimately emerges is a gripping portrait of the lingering effects of trauma. (July)