Falling Into the World

The launching point for this sweet and moving tale is the story of the Return of the Prodigal Son. Saphi Fletcher, the rebellious younger daughter of the Fletcher family, returns to the home where her older, more responsible sibling, Augustina, takes care of their disabled father, pastor of a local church. One's immediate sympathy is with "Gusti," who, with patience and love, has cared for her father ever since the car accident that crippled him and killed their mother. Gusti is haunted by memories of their mother, a woman whose imagination and affection for her family hid a growing restlessness with domesticity and their fishbowl life. Throughout the book, Gusti has to confront her own "journey" home, coming to grips with her resentment of her sister, her ambivalence toward her fiancé, and her fears of the truth about her parents' "perfect" marriage. If you've ever wondered how the Prodigal Son's brother could love his wandering sibling again, this book artfully brings you to that place, helping you understand what the "good sibling" has to learn from the mischievous one. Karen Brichoux is a master at getting inside the everyday interactions that make up a full life. She doesn't disappoint in this story which leaves you wanting to turn page after page as you follow Gusti's inner journey. Brichoux's other superlative skill is describing the landscape and natural life along the Mississippi and its fertile farmland. These passages alone make this book a worthy read. This is a bittersweet, ultimately hopeful read young and old can enjoy. I highly recommend it.

Her dreams ended six years ago with the car accident that killed her mom and turned her dad into a paraplegic. Six years ago Augustina Fletcher was planning to go to an out of state graduate school; those dreams are dead along with her mother whom she loved and still misses. However, someone had to stay home in Missouri to care for her father and raise her younger sister Saphi. Though a teen at the time of the tragedy, Augustina did her best, but Saphi ran away anyway. In her twenties, Augustina feels old and tired as responsibility cripples her. Her salvation is routines and the nearby Mississippi River, which enables her to fantasize about floating away from her world. Now Saphi is back, but Augustina resents her fleeing while dumping all the work on her. She wonders if marriage to Colton is the right thing for her especially since she cannot stand his bossy mom and is not sure she loves him. Augustina considers just leaving town and let Saphi deal with responsibility not yet aware that her sister is a widow still in mourning. This is an insightful character study of a young woman who feels the weight of responsibly has caused her essence to vanish and to get it back she feels she must leave in order to find her own world, but that is no option for those left behind. Augustina is as a deep character as any recent novel has produced because the audience knows her as well as they know themselves. Her feelings of trapped hopelessness and despair with no future let alone present though only in her twenties make for a deep somewhat maudlin tale that will have readers compare their life situations to that of Augustina. Harriet Klausner