I had in my care that summer four dogs, three cats, the
Moran kids, Daisy, my eight-year-old cousin, and Flora, the
toddler child of a local artist. There was also, for a
while, a litter of wild rabbits, three of them, that had
been left under our back steps . . .
Alice McDermott's haunting and enchanting new work of
fiction her first since the bestselling Charming Billy,
winner of the 1999 National Book Award is narrated by a
woman who was born beautiful. Her parents decided that her
best chance in life was to marry a wealthy man, so she was
raised on the east end of Long Island, among the country
houses of the rich. On the cusp of fifteen, she is the
town's most sought-after babysitter -- cheerful, beloved, a
wonder with children and animals, but also a solitary soul
with an already complex understanding of human nature when
her favorite cousin, Daisy, comes to spend the summer.
The narrators witty, piquant, deeply-etched evocation of all
that was really transpiring under the surface that seemingly
idyllic season gives her wry tale infused with suppressed
passion, disappointment, and enduring hope its remarkable
vividness and impact.
Once again, Alice McDermott explores the mysterious depths
of what seems like everyday life with unforgettable insight
and resonant emotional power.
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