From Publishers Weekly Leavitt's second novel follows the four members of the Cooper family through the mother's illness and death. "In understated， perfectly targeted prose， Leavitt illuminates the ordinariness of his characters， giving them and their sorrows and joys a long-lasting afterglow，" observed PW. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information， Inc. From Library Journal The latest novel by the author of Family Dancing (8/84) and The Lost Language of Cranes (9/15/84) examines the complex relationships of the Cooper family. Family matriarch Louise Cooper， mother of gay siblings April and Danny， suffers one medical malady after another， while Nat， her computer scientist husband， enjoys a long-term affair on the side. As Louise's condition deteriorates， tensions mount and family members attempt to define and justify their conflicting feelings. Leavitt's plot twists and turns around various relationshipsof Nat and Lousie， Danny and his lover Walter， Louise and her polio-crippled sister Eleanorand April's decision to have a baby while maintaining her tremendous appeal as a star of women's music. A compassionate， moving work.Kevin M. Roddy， Oakland P.L.， Cal.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. See all Editorial Reviews