Starred Review. When Georgette George and Ann Drayton meet in 1968 as freshmen roommates at Barnard College, Georgette marvels that her privileged, brilliant roommate envies Georgette's rough, impoverished childhood. Through the vehicle of this fascinating friendship, Nunez's sophisticated new novel (after For Rouenna) explores the dark side of the countercultural idealism that swept the country in the 1960s. Hyperbolic even for the times, Ann's passionate commitment to her beliefs--unwavering despite the resentment from those she tries to help--haunts Georgette, the novel's narrator, long after the women's lives diverge. In 1976, Ann lands in prison for shooting and killing a policeman in a misguided attempt to rescue her activist black boyfriend from a confrontation. The novel's generous structure also gracefully encompasses the story of Georgette's more conventional adult life in New York (she becomes a magazine editor, marries, and bears two children), plus that of Georgette's runaway junkie sister. Nunez reveals Ann's life in prison via a moving essay by one of her fellow inmates. By the end of this novel--propelled by rich, almost scholarly prose--all the parts come together to capture the violent idealism of the times while illuminating a moving truth about human nature. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.

Starred Review. Every so often you close a book, and the only word that comes to mind is Wow. This fifth offering from award winner Nunez (For Rouenna) elicits such a reaction. Part social history and part platonic love story, it takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The action begins in 1968, when working-class Georgette George is forced to room with upper-class Ann Drayton. Georgette is wary of Ann but slowly allows a friendship to develop. As it does, both get a crash course in the ways race, class, and gender impact cultural dominance. The novel is never heavyhanded but tells an intricate story that relies on morally complex characters and their friends and family. While the women development is foremost, the era most important markers--the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War protests, Black Panthers, Woodstock, hippie activities, feminist organizing, and AIDS activism, among them--offer a meaningful backdrop for each individual sojourn. Rich in historical detail, this unpredictable novel zeroes in on what it means to renounce class privilege and sacrifice oneself in the service of human betterment. Stunningly powerful, it is highly recommended.--Eleanor J. Bader, Brooklyn, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Nunez's layered, thoughtful novel opens in the heyday of the civil rights movement, when Georgette George arrives at Barnard and is greeted by her activist roommate, Ann Drayton. Ann, a child of privilege who has rejected her upper-class roots, is persistent in her attempts to befriend Georgette, who comes from a working-class background. Georgette gradually finds herself drawn in by Ann. Although she never becomes the activist Ann is, the two remain friends even after they both drop out of college, until they have a violent fight and part ways for good--or so Georgette thinks. A few years later, Ann reappears as the central figure in a murder case that garners national attention. Ann stands accused of murdering the police officer who shot and killed her lover, an African American intellectual. Ann readily admits her guilt, and her seeming lack of repentance perplexes and enrages the country, but Georgette is unsurprised. Although she doesn't completely understand Ann, she has by now learned Ann's beliefs are unshakable and sincere. Nunez moves far past the obvious cliches about activism to show a character who, while not always completely sympathetic, is nonetheless multifaceted and three-dimensional. Told in Georgette's graceful, introspective voice, this engrossing, beautiful novel will enthrall readers. KristineHuntley.