In the Interest of Faye

Lisa Brognano’s In the Interest of Faye comes out of her passion for art and storytelling and her sensitivity to characters and their needs. When the elderly Margaret DuPont agrees to sell the building which houses Hirsch Gallery, its young director Faye Brooks determines to save the gallery. She tries showing off the art; she tries flirting with the buyer, a coffee mogul named Bobby Sterling; she tries renting the place from him, though raising Sterling’s exorbitant rent presents further challenges.

By themselves, Faye’s efforts would not succeed, but over her five years as Hirsch director she has developed loyal supporters who want her and her gallery to succeed. And then, there’s her father, a successful architect whose protective streak at times seems overwhelming. Those who want to protect Faye’s interests include her clever friend and neighbor Norman; his precocious niece Lily; her favorite cab driver; a homeless artist turned grant writer; a punk-rocking intern named Zoe; and Anouk, the Dutch woman whom Faye had earlier persuaded to allow several Van Gogh artifacts to come from Amsterdam to Albany.

Brognano’s novel asks: what exactly are Faye’s best interests? How does a thoughtful and artistic young woman balance the needs of a gallery and its community against her own need for independence and growth?