Thirty-Three Swoons

Martha Cooley is a great young writer. Those readers expecting "The Archivist, Pt. 2" will be in for a surprise. She takes us for a Russian sleigh-ride through modern relationships, as carefully composed as the overtones of scent that rise from the page. It is an elegant production; well-presented and seductive.

In very different ways, I found Thirty-Three Swoons as satisfying as The Archivist, Cooley's excellent first novel. The structure is more complex and inventive, with a variety of voices - dream narratives, soliloquies, and traditional narrative - sustaining that curiosity - and frustration at unresolved tension - that propels the reader forward. I see this difference between the two novels as evidence of the writer's sensitivity to the need for different languages and structures to fit different subject matters. I also found the olfactory thread that runs through the book very fresh and a nostril-opener. The strands come together in a satisfying and unpredictable way, and the prose is often beautifully turned. How lucky can a reader get?

The perfume industry and theater make interesting backdrops to this haunting story. The heroine, whose parents are deceased dreams of her father as the business of living comes much too fast. An unforgettable novel. Janet Sue Terry, author of the "Set Me Free" series, book 1 - "Possibilities", book 2 - Resolutions, and "Just Our Best Short Stories 2005". www.janetsueterry.com. CEO of Just My Best Book Publishing Company, www.jmbpub.com