Harmony - Hardcover

Susan Taylor Chehak is a graduate of the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop and the author of five novels, including Smithereens, The Story of Annie D., and Harmony. Her short stories have appeared in Folio, Coe Review, Guernica Magazine, and The Adirondack Review, among other places. Her most recent publication is a work of nonfiction, What Happened to Paula: The Anatomy of a True Crime. Susan has taught fiction writing in the low residency MFA program at Antioch University, Los Angeles, the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, the University of Southern California, and the Summer Writing Festival at the University of Iowa. She grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, spent many years in Los Angeles, lives occasionally in Toronto, and at present calls Colorado her home.

Harmony is a compelling, well-crafted novel told in a series of disjointed flashbacks by Clodine Wheeler, forced by a series of deaths to examine her life. The reader learns early on that Clodine's abusive husband is dead and soon begins to wonder how much responsibility she bears for his death. Another woman suddenly on her own is the childlike Lilly Duke; the father of her baby is awaiting execution for murder. Lilly seeks sanctuary in Clodine's hometown, the upper-Midwest resort of Harmony, where the baby drowns under mysterious circumstances. While examining the patterns of her behavior and the way that Lilly's life mirrors her own, Clodine begins to take responsibility for her actions and their effect on others. Vivid imagery brings objects and actions to life, and the characters are real and multidimensional in this beautifully written novel by the author of Story of Annie D. (Houghton, 1989). Highly recommended for public libraries and large college fiction collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/90.
- Judy Mimken, Cardinal Stritch Coll., Milwaukee, Wis.
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