Solos

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 26. JULI 2004

Florey's witty, charming eighth novel (Souvenir of Cold Springs; Vigil for a Stranger; etc.) follows the travails of palindrome-obsessed and appropriately named Emily Lime and her coterie of like-minded friends in their quirky Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood. At 36, Emily is still trying to find her way as a photographer. She's also broke and lonely, and she hasn't quite gotten over her divorce. To make matters worse, Emily's ex-husband, the heartless Tab Hartwell, wants his son to murder her. To further complicate matters, Hart's son is Emily's dreamy dog walker, 21-year-old Marcus Mead, upon whom she has a huge crush. Perhaps the strongest character in the novel, however, is Emily's Williamsburg, which sometimes competes with Marcus for her affections. The author's sure way with setting redeems flashbacks to Marcus's rural Pennsylvania childhood, which could have been cutely cloying tidbits about a bookish boy and his hippie mom, but instead offer sweet, sharp insights into a "bewilderingly different" boy. Florey doesn't serve up obvious plot lines, and the novel's unexpected ending satisfies. If this clever, engrossing book suffers from any flaw, it's that the characters have so much in common: there are far too many dog-loving, word-fixated, art-appreciating, Trollope-reading crossword puzzle aficionados for any single novel. But that's a small quibble in a light, winning read.