The Translation of the Bones

In her American debut, 2009 Orange Award–winner Kay (An Equal Stillness) displays canny insight into her characters’ quiet yearnings. Mary-Margaret O’Reilly, a dim-witted sheltered woman living with her obese, dependent mother, Fidelma, so desperately longs to make some genuine connection that she has visions of a miracle in her suburban London church. Fidelma hungers for her first love and a time when she was beautiful and unburdened by the fear that traps her in her body and her home. Stella Morrison, stuck in an empty marriage, covets time with her 10-year-old son, Felix, who is miserable at boarding school. Father Diamond longs for peace of mind and a strong reaffirmation of his religious calling. Meanwhile, Alice Armitage, an opinionated but big-hearted church member who helps with cleaning and visits church members who have become housebound, is eager for her son, Fraser, to return home from Afghanistan. By imbuing these troubled souls with transcendent innocence and memorable backstories, Kay brings depth to characters that could easily become stereotypes, all while spinning an extraordinary plot. (Jan.)