If You Had a Family

Cory, the protagonist of this well-meaning novel has written a well-meaning novel herself, one that she looks back on years later, relieved that it remained unpublished. This novel lacks the imaginary one's mushy sentimentality, but it too relies on overly familiar circumstances (recovered memories of incest here, coming out as a lesbian in the novel-within-the-novel) that drag it down. Of greater interest is Cory's childhood in California in the 1950s. Wilson creates a winsome child's view of a family that occasionally veers into overripe perfection (Cory's childhood games with her brother Kevin lack even a hint of meanness) and her Christian Scientist mother is sweetness incarnate. But there are affecting moments, such as Cory's confused refusal to be vaccinated in elementary school. After her mother's death from treatable cancer, the story jumps ahead several years to find Cory an emotionally cold, 35-year-old lesbian accountant living in Seattle. She resists the overtures of Rosemary, who doggedly pursues her, until the two finally stumble into a relationship, although Cory remains uncommitted. Early on, Wilson indicates that Cory was abused by an uncle, and much of the narrative is spent waiting for Cory to deal with it. She eventually does so through therapy and the help of friends--a resolution that may be realisitic but isn't terribly dramatic. (Sept.)