Promise the Moon

May 12, 2008
In the grim latest from Arnold (Pieces of My Sister's Life
), Josh, a Camp Pendleton marine, returns from Iraq with PTSD and takes his own life; widow Natalie and the couple's two children—Anna, 10, and Toby, 5—are plunged into confusion and grief. With the military holding up Josh's benefits (if the suicide wasn't due to PTSD, it's unlawful misconduct), Natalie is forced to move back in with her parents—a mother dying of Alzheimer's and a distant father—in her hometown a day's drive away. Every question she asks of the marines and of returned veterans about what happened in Iraq is met with silence. Arnold expertly alternates between Natalie and Anna's narration, using their engaging and very different voices to reveal the lies they tell, hoping to shield each other from a hurt that can't be prevented. Though Arnold has a beautiful grasp of the characters' heart-stopping pain, the book dwells on Natalie's grief-stricken paralysis, leaving the plot to slowly advance through chance. The finale stumbles as Arnold struggles to give resolution to a family drama that can't be resolved, only survived.