Bloody Mary

After her debut with the widely praised stories in "Blood and Milk, Sharon Solwitz offers up her first, darkly radiant, full-length novel. "Bloody Mary, which takes its title from the childhood game, tells the story of socially adept, 12-year-old Hadley and her protective mother. They live a privileged life in the Chicago neighborhood of Lakeview, but soon find themselves in a state of chaos and flux. A small seizure causes Claire to tumble from a painter's ladder, leading her to disconcerting visions and odd behavior. She falls into a reckless affair; she alienates her closest friends. The seizures begin to mount, and Claire isolates herself from Hadley, who is in the process of destroying her own life, quickly and efficiently. The novel alternates seamlessly between Claire's and Hadley's perspective, tracing the effects of fear and desire on a settled, complacent life. Writing with her signature, edgy prose and flair for dramatic tension, Solwitz demonstrates that happiness "isn't our birthright" and that "we have to work for it and even then we can't be sure." We are led to consider our own degree of complicity in the hard times that seem to fall from nowhere. "A flair for dark comedy and the ability to turn on a dime are prized qualities for these unpredictable characters; time and again, their intrepid investigations lead them into uncharted territory where bizarre dramatic action seems to be the only possible move. Solwitz's fine-toothed examinations of complex emotional states are dead on. . . ." --"The New York Times Book Review on "Blood and Milk