Thanksgiving brings the chance to contemplate familial and other relationships. Here are three novels about the ties that bind -- sometimes a little too tightly.

"Whatever Makes You Happy"

by William Sutcliffe

Bloomsbury, $23.95

Best friends Gillian, Helen and Carol are disappointed in their sons. Matt works at a tasteless "lad" magazine and brings home a different woman every night. Paul is gay, but has yet to come out to Helen. Daniel spends all his time moping about his recent breakup. Then one Mother's Day, the three women make a pact: each will show up at her son's home unannounced and try to sort out his life. Needless to say, this is much easier said than accomplished.

Gillian mortifies Matt when she crashes a party thrown by his magazine. Helen must come to terms with how much Paul reminds her of her ex-husband, and with an even bigger secret Paul has kept from her. And Carol forces Daniel to decide how far he is willing to go for true love. Though "Whatever Makes You Happy" makes for enjoyable light reading, it is ultimately a mixed bag. The thread involving Gillian and Matt is the best of the three, balancing outrageous humor with a surprisingly realistic ending.

"Conscience Point"

by Erica Abeel

Unbridled, $24.95

It is 1997, and Maddy Shay has the perfect life: a career as an entertainment reporter, a loving relationship with her adopted daughter, Laila, and a jetsetting boyfriend, Nick. But trouble soon appears on the horizon. During what was to be an idyllic vacation in France, Nick tells Maddy that he wants a baby. Maddy, shocked, begins to suspect that Nick has his eye on a younger woman, specifically his company's attractive new publicist. Then, Laila announces that she is leaving for Guatemala, for reasons she can't -- or won't -- explain. And to make matters worse, a younger co-worker edges Maddy out of her job.

As Maddy ponders her swiftly changing fortunes, she recalls her relationship with Nick's rebellious sister, Violet, a connection that, though long severed, has a devastating impact on the present.

If all this sounds like a bit much, "Conscience Point" may not be your cup of tea. The novel operates at a frenetic pitch, and several major plot twists threaten to tip the story into soap opera territory. Nevertheless, Erica Abeel's take on the glossy rich of the 1990s is entertaining, and certainly never boring.

"Me and Kaminski"

by Daniel Kehlmann

Pantheon, $21.95

Sebastian Zollner ekes out a living as a journalist, specializing in eviscerating the work of art critics and artists' biographers. Zollner now hopes to turn the tables and write his own biography of Manuel Kaminski, an acclaimed but reclusive painter, who, rumor has it, is going blind.

Zollner invites himself to Kaminski's mountaintop retreat, only to find that the painter has become quite dotty in his old age and lives with his formidable daughter, Miriam, who is not about to let Zollner take advantage of her father. But it will take more than Miriam to stop Zollner, who bribes the maid to allow him access to the house, crashes a party Kaminski throws and finally kidnaps the older man -- although who exactly is kidnaping whom soon becomes an open question.

"Me and Kaminski" is by turns rollicking, witty and touching. Daniel Kehlmann is a master at using Zollner's own narrative voice to point out his gaping character flaws, something that comes across marvelously in Carol Brown Janeway's translation from the original German. For anyone who could use a lift this Thanksgiving, "Me and Kaminski" is a real treat.

Rebecca Oppenheimer is a recent Towson University graduate and National Book Critics' Circle member.

user comments (1)

user vjphann says...

Once again, excellent descriptions. Thank you for guiding me to enjoyable books!

Posted 11:51 AM, 12.11.08

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