Synopses & Reviews
From the New York Times best-selling author of The Dovekeepers, a New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book.
The courage to face the unthinkable is at the core of this magnificent new novel. How do we manage to confront the truths in our lives and find forgiveness in the most unforgiving of circumstances? How do we love truly and deeply in a world that is as brutal as it is beautiful?
When Ethan Ford fails to show up for work on a brilliant summer morning, none of his neighbors would guess that for more than thirteen years, he has been running from his past. His true nature has been locked away, as hidden as his real identity. But sometimes locks spring open, and the devastating truths of Ethan Ford's history shatter the small-town peace of Monroe, affecting family and friends alike.
This deeply felt and compelling novel makes it clear why Alice Hoffman has been called "one of the best writers we have today" (Cleveland Plain Dealer). Honest, shattering, seductive, and ultimately healing, Blue Diary is an unforgettable novel by a writer who tells "truths powerful enough to break a reader's heart" (Time).
Review
"Hoffman avoids the temptation of a feel-good ending, at the same time providing a sensitive assessment of the moral qualities constituting a good life. Throughout, her observations of the natural world are conveyed with gorgeous clarity and the supporting characters are roundly drawn." Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Review
"Hoffman writes from on high, a storytelling goddess who drenches the earth with flower-opening sunshine one day, only to bring on the most abysmal gloom the next. She enchants and she riles, and her powers are extraordinary....This canny tale of abrupt reversals and courageous, unpopular choices is as suspenseful as it is lyrical and provocative." Donna Seaman, Booklist
Review
"Hoffman writes a sunny magic realism that inevitably goes dark as her characters get into various kinds of trouble....The plotting is so carefully done, the drama so propulsive, you sense a little bit of glee in Hoffman's tearing down of the gingerbread house she has built." Claire Dederer, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"With her glorious prose and extraordinary eye, Alice Hoffman seems to know what it means to be human." Susan Isaacs, Newsday
Review
"A complex and haunting story of how human beings transform themselves not because of their wants but in spite of them." San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"Hoffman skillfully spins a disciplined narrative....A welcome return to top form by a gifted, popular author." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
When Ethan Ford fails to show up for work on a brillant summer morning, none of his neighbors would guess that for more than thirteen years he has been running from his past. His true nature has been locked away, as hidden as his real identity. But sometimes locks spring open, and the devastating truths of Ethan's history shatter the small-town peace of Monroe, affecting family and friends alike.
Synopsis
For more than thirteen years, devoted father and husband Ethan Ford has been running from his past. But one day the police show up at his door-and his life as an irreproachable family man and heroic volunteer fireman begins to come apart.
"Investigate[s] the themes of devotion, betrayal, guilt and forgiveness in trenchantly effective ways." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
"Hoffman ably sends her theme of loss and deception reverberating across several well-made subplots... fast-moving." (New York Times Book Review)
About the Author
Born in New York City, and raised on Long Island, Alice Hoffman graduated from Adelphi University and received an M.A. from Stanford University, where she was Mirrielees Fellow. She is the author of fifteen novels, most recently Local Girls and The River King. She currently lives near Boston with her family and her dogs.