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June 6, 2005
 
BOOK REVIEW: Sue Miller's 'Lost in the Forest' Tells Poignant Story of Complex Family Relationships When Tragedy Strikes
 
Reviewed by David M. Kinchen
Huntington News Network Book Critic
 
Hinton (HNN) —The last time I got so enthusiastic about a novel, it sold relatively few copies, got great reviews and I've never heard of the author since. More about this at the end of the review.
 
This won't be the case with Sue Miller's "Lost in the Forest" (Knopf, 256 pages, $24.95). Miller is the highly regarded author of several outstanding novels, including "The Good Mother" and "While I was Gone." I particularly enjoyed her 2003 memoir, "The Story of My Father," which is one of the best accounts I've read of how Alzheimer's disease affects the victim and family alike.
 
Set in the California wine country of Napa County, "Lost in the Forest" is a poetically written novel of family relationships as they are today, with divorces breaking families up, remarriages and new children, hedonistic husbands and wives, the whole dysfunctional mess that I blame on self–obsessed baby boomers.
 
Of course, this is unfair: My own parents divorced when I was 10 going on 11, in 1949. My father was an abusive alcoholic whom my mother had married in 1937 against the advice of everyone. They told my mother, who had recently divorced her decent, caring husband, that Harry Kinchen was a womanizer who would break her heart. Like many women, she sought out the "bad boy," the exciting love. The marriage produced four children and scenes of terror so strong I'll never forget them.
 
It's just the opposite in "Lost in the Forest": Bookstore owner Eva has divorced wine grape expert Mark, a philanderer whom she dearly loved. Eva finds a decent, caring man, John, and marries him. The children of Eva and Mark, Emily and Daisy bond to their stepfather; everyone – including Mark – loves three–year–old Theo, the child of Eva and John.
 
It's the late 1980s as the novel opens with a bang. Mark gets a phone call from Emily, his 17–year–old beautiful petite daughter, telling him of a major family emergency. When he reaches his ex–wife's Victorian house, Emily and Daisy, tall, gangly 14–year–old Daisy, give him some details. The story comes out in segments: John has been struck and killed by a car in busy St. Helena while walking with Eva and Theo, who were physically unharmed. Eva is sedated; Theo is with Emily and Daisy.
 
Emily takes news of her stepfather's death much better than Daisy, who has strongly bonded with her gentle, nice stepfather. Theo is too young to appreciate the enormity of the disaster. Eva is numb with shock. Daisy, who is maturing rapidly, begins an affair with fiftysomething Duncan, married to Gracie and a friend of Eva and Mark.
 
When he realizes what's going on between his youngest daughter and Duncan, Mark draws closer to her, becoming more caring and loving. People can change, get better in the face of tragedy, and Mark is a prime example of this. We realize he's no longer the shallow, hedonistic guy we see at the beginning. He's still in love with Eva, who is reluctant to forgive him, although we see she still loves him.
 
She just doesn't trust him.
 
As Miller tells her story, we learn more about Mark, Eva, their children and their friends. The narrative is perfectly paced. The dialogue is authentic. The reader is welcomed into the circle of characters like a good friend. I know authors don't like reviewers to make comparisons, but here goes: If you like Anne Tyler, Annie Proulx, Jane Smiley, John Updike or John Irving, you'll love Sue Miller.
 
At the end of "Lost in the Forest," there's a family reunion in present–day Northern California. We learn what happens with people we've grown to care about. This is a novel for anyone who has ever experienced losses – and that's everybody. The first printing is 100,000 copies; it's a selection of Book–Of–The–Month Club and The Literary Guild. I wouldn't be surprised if it were filmed for theatrical or cable release.
 
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The novel I referred to in the opening sentence is Paul Hond's "The Baker" (Random House, 1997). Actually, I don't know how it did in terms of sales; it didn't make any best–seller list – not that such lists make any difference to me – that I know of.
 
It's a wonderful novel of family life in Baltimore in a time of racial and ethnic tensions. I recommend it without reservation. I've seen copies of it on amazon.com advertised for just over $1 each. In many respects, Hond is as good a novelist as Richard Russo, whose Pulitzer Prize–winning "Empire Falls" has just been made into a HBO miniseries starring Paul Newman, Ed Harris, Joanne Woodward, Aidan Quinn and an outstanding supporting cast. Hond has just published another novel, "Mothers and Sons: A Novel." I'll try to get a copy and, maybe, review it. I really loved "The Baker"! Just ask my former colleagues, now scattered to the winds, at the Register–Herald in Beckley, W.Va.
 
Publisher's web site: www.aaknopf.com

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