The Last Studebaker

This affecting, nostalgic drama of family dysfunction and reunion takes place in present-day South Bend, Ind., where the Studebaker plant, shut down in 1963, still casts its shadow over dented lives. Lois Kulwicki, divorced mother of two and devotee of garage sales, struggles to gain independence from her selfish, seemingly oh-so-reasonable ex-husband Willy, in whose house she still lives a year after their divorce. Gail, their teenage daughter, worried that she is pregnant, sees herself as the only sane person in a world of flaky adults. Finally thrown out by Willy, who's blithely remarrying, Lois and the girls rent a house and acquire an unwanted tenant: Henry Martin, a disoriented wreck ever since his girlfriend and her son were killed in a car accident. Lois is haunted by the memory of the father she hasn't seen in 25 years; her mother abandoned him after he lost his job at the Studebaker plant and went dotty. Is he still alive? The answer will involve a cross-country ride in a Studebaker, which serves as the unifying symbol of a bygone era when companies supposedly treated employees like family. Intimately familiar with America's Rust Belt, Hemley ( All You Can Eat ) draws a quirky, droll road map of the human heart, with all its foibles and dangers. (Oct.)