Gus In Bronze

Facing her final weeks, a mother leaves her family a lasting portrait of grace, humor, and fierce devotion.

At the center of this "straight-to-the-gut" (Publishers Weekly) novel is strong, lovely Augusta—Gus—wife and mother of three children, who is dying of cancer.

In her last weeks she sits for a sculptor capturing her spirit in bronze—a brave final gesture for her young family. Beside her steadfast husband Andreas and their three lively children, Gus meets her illness with unsentimental humor—refusing to let grief crowd out the pleasures of the day.

Her hospital room turns into an unlikely studio, where she trades banter with her scruffy sculptor—finding unexpected vitality in damp gray clay. At home before the hearth, surrounded by piano music and family noise, she savors every messy, ordinary hour.

"Above all, this poetic story is about the small, strange, and important ways people have of expressing love" (Christian Science Monitor).
Family Life: At home, the Kaligas household bustles with chaotic warmth, from ninth-grader Daphni’s ambitious cooking projects to toddler Nicky cruising the halls on his plastic tricycle.Family Drama: Andreas, an admiralty lawyer of Greek descent, works to anchor his household while secretly learning Scarlatti’s 555 harpsichord sonatas to keep time from running out.Siblings: Thirteen-year-old Maya takes refuge behind her camera lens and black-and-white photography books, while her older sister Daphni throws herself into orchestrating elaborate meals.Also by This Author: The Court of Common Pleas and Something Borrowed.