Love in Case of Emergency

March 1, 2021
Paula was an old friend of Judith's, who was doctor to Brida, who knew Malika, Jorinde's sister. While the interlinked chain of these women's connections is less important than their five individual stories, their histories reveal shared struggles and quiet moments of contentment. Inattentive men, difficult children, and a lingering sense of shame link their darkest days, while career successes and an appreciation for literature, music, and the arts bring light to their lives. Translated from the original German by Bulloch, Krien's (Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything, 2014) second novel brings five vastly different perspectives to life. Tackling infertility, infidelity, and the challenges of blending families, Krien immerses readers in the lives of these headstrong women, each with her own priorities, tragedies, and triumphs. Fans of Sarah Dunn, Elisabeth Egan, and Isabel Gillies will relate to the multifaceted lives of Krien's characters, brilliantly rendered in her vivid voice. Love in Case of Emergency is a study of personal conflict, with individual achievement set against family harmony, sexual desire clashing with propriety, and adventure diverging from stability.

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April 1, 2021

Five German women with intersecting lives--whether as old friends, new friends, romantic rivals, or sisters--work hard to balance careers, parenthood, grief, infidelities, and wildly divergent personalities to find their way to something resembling lasting happiness. Two of the women, one a bookseller and the other a physician, are former roommates who reconnect in adulthood and whose bookshop and practice, respectively, serve as hubs for the characters. Two of the other women love the same man, who has moved on to a third. One of those women continues a lifelong struggle to be seen as her own person in the shadow of her narcissistic movie star sister. With flaws as strong as their insecurities and underappreciated gifts, Krien's characters navigate the search for love that seems solid in the moment until the stresses of daily life turn stability into quicksand. VERDICT German novelist and award-winning short story author Krien (Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything) has produced a sensitive, intricate study of the connected stories of her characters, who seek a shield against the deep loneliness caused by unwanted solitude or by being with the wrong person. Readers will find something relatable in one or more of the lives of these women.--Beth Andersen, formerly with Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI

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