The Last Odd Day

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 24 MAY 2004

In this hushed tale of love and duty, Hinton (Friendship Cake, etc.) tells the story of Jean Witherspoon half Cherokee, half white who learns that her husband of 57 years has kept a secret from her for decades. Growing up in an isolated North Carolina mountain home, Jean is awed by her parents' deep love for each another. She herself meets O.T., a "handsome, attentive" soldier, who marries her just before he leaves for World War II. When he returns, he is a changed man, and Jean, lonely, grows desperate for a child. She finally conceives, but the tragic birth of a stillborn baby changes their relationship. Decades later, O.T. is in a nursing home after a stroke. When a nurse asks an innocent question about the visits of a woman the nurse thinks is Jean's daughter, Jean begins to guess at the truth. Her feelings of betrayal and anguish at her husband's infidelity are made worse when he dies, leaving her to face his daughter alone, but in the end she finds an unexpected peace, convinced that O.T. loved her as best he could. Hinton convincingly evokes a love that is based more on shared experiences and obligation than passion, but the novel's glacial pace and muted prose cast a veil over her story. 8-city author tour.