Joy for Beginners

April 18, 2011
In Bauermeister's sensual second novel, a party for a woman who has beaten breast cancer results in six friends reconnecting, not just to each other but also to parts of themselves they had long neglected. Admittedly an "incongruous group," with each woman at a different point in her life, Kate's friends agree that each "will do one thing in the next year that is scary or difficult." Kate selects tasks for each of her friends; undertaking the tasks will bring heartbreak, joy, and adventure to everyone. Bauermeister's (The School of Essential Ingredients) evocative prose creates a magical world where gray goo becomes "forgiving dough" in an oven and a woman protects herself from loneliness by hiding in an unruly garden. Kate's well-meaning tasks, be they as grand as a trip to Venice or as banal as baking bread, push the friends toward much-needed awakenings. A book designed to both fill you up and make you hungry for life.

The title may be JOY FOR BEGINNERS, but this audiobook is a sure tearjerker. Each chapter is like a short story that focuses on the lives of six women who are bound together by their friend's victory over breast cancer. Narrator Cassandra Campbell misses the opportunity to give a unique voice to each woman as her story is presented. Instead, she uses the same quiet voice throughout, drawing out words with a gravelly weariness that has a depressing effect. While the sad tone is appropriate for parts of the story, it is ultimately meant to be inspiring, and Campbell's somberness makes it difficult to feel the joy. M.M.G. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine