Coming Back to Me

April 1, 2001
When book designer Gary Breyer and third-grade teacher Molly Goldman meet at a New Jersey diner, it's love at first sight in Leavitt's (Living Other Lives) latest drama. Gary's parents were killed in a freak accident when he was a baby; Molly's only family is an older sister, Suzanne, who ran away from home at 17 and hasn't been seen since. The sisters' few conversations consist of Suzanne calling to borrow money Molly can't afford to give her; when she finally refuses, Suzanne drops off the radar for good. Gary and Molly wed after a brief courtship, buy a home and are delighted at the birth of their son, Otis at last they feel like members of a "normal" family. But their joy is short-lived: while still in the hospital, Molly becomes gravely ill and falls into a coma, leaving Gary to care for Otis with the help of dour, flaky, live-in nurse Gerta. Then Gary loses his job. Desperate and facing astronomical medical bills, he contacts Suzanne and asks her to return to New Jersey from California to help with the baby. Broke and alone, she accepts. At first her selfishness and utter incompetence strain credibility, but her sudden transformation to conscientious, doting aunt, while inevitable, seems equally implausible. The narrative, told from the shifting perspectives of the three principals, is peppered with bland, disagreeable secondary characters creepy neighbors, an arrogant doctor and Suzanne's ex-boyfriend, Ivan. There's little here to hold readers' interest even the drama of Molly's illness and mounting tensions between Gary and Suzanne lack suspense and the reward for having to endure these people never comes: the unsatisfying ending leaves too many issues unresolved.

January 1, 2001
Gary and Molly's joy at becoming parents comes to a quick and devastating end when Otis's birth leaves Molly with a life-threatening medical condition. To make matters worse, just when he most needs work to pay Molly's astronomical medical bills, Gary is fired from the publishing company in whose art department he works. In desperation, he calls Molly's long-estranged sister, Suzanne, to return to New Jersey and care for the baby while he spends his days at the hospital with the comatose and desperately ill Molly and his nights at his new job as a security guard. When Molly finally awakens and learns the extent of her illness, she realizes that the fragility of existence (with or without a potentially fatal illness) means that it's important to live every moment fully. Leavitt (Living Other Lives) has a talent for creating believable characters whose problems touch the reader's heart. With its tug-at-the-heartstrings plot, this novel sometimes teeters on the brink of melodrama, but Leavitt is a good enough writer to keep it from dissolving into suds. Recommended for all public library fiction collections.--Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, Seattle

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2001
Gary and Molly, a couple drawn to each other as if by magic, come to their marriage with their own sets of emotional burdens from childhood. Neither has any family to speak of, but together they are complete and happy. The birth of baby Otis is expected to make their lives perfect, and it does for three days. Then a medical anomaly sends Molly into a downward spiral of surgery, uncertain diagnoses, and coma. Throughout, Gary remains hopeful and devoted to both Molly and Otis, but when the loss of his job makes their dire circumstances worse, he has to go back to Molly's mysterious past to look for help. Grave, wise baby Otis demands so little and yet seems to bring out the best in everyone. Redemption as unlikely as miracles occurs under his solemn gaze. Author Leavitt draws her characters with an experienced hand, and in spite of the sweet, sentimental, and somewhat "soapy" nature of this tale, it is nonetheless a fine reading experience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)