The Snowbirds
A Novel
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3.8 • 12 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER! | "A riveting exploration of midlife yearning." —People
The Last Thing He Told Me meets Fleishman Is in Trouble in this page-turning story of a couple who flee winter in the Midwest for Palm Springs, where they find their relationship at a crossroads.
Kim and Grant are at a turning point. A couple for thirty years, their "separate but together" partnership is running up against the realities of late middle age: Grant’s mother has died, the college where he taught philosophy was shuttered, and their twin girls are grown and gone. Escaping the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter for the hot desert sun of Palm Springs seems as good a solution as any to the more intractable problems they face.
When they arrive at Le Desert, a quirky condo community where everyone knows everyone’s business, Kim immediately embraces the opportunity to make new friends and explore a more adventurous side of her personality. Meanwhile, Grant struggles to find his footing in this unfamiliar landscape, leaving Kim to wonder if their relationship can survive the snowbird season. But when Grant goes missing on a hike in the Palm Springs mountains, Kim is forced to consider two terrifying outcomes: either Grant is truly lost, or this time, he’s really left her.
Is it ever too late to become the person we wanted to be—and is there still time to change into someone better? The exhilarating, but often confusing transitions of midlife are pitched against the promise and glamour of Palm Springs in this tender, honest story of what it takes to commit to someone for a lifetime. With compassion and humor, Clancy explores the redemptive power of finding ourselves, and of being found.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the sparkling latest from Clancy (Shoulder Season), a 50-something Wisconsin couple reevaluate their lives during a winter in Palm Springs, Calif. Kim, on sabbatical from a nonprofit, and Grant, a former philosophy professor who lost his job when his college shut down, have been together for 30 years. When Kim's gay ex-husband, Basil, invites them to spend the winter in his Palm Springs condo, Grant is initially hesitant, but he eventually agrees, and presses Kim to finally marry him. In the desert, they meet a motley group of new friends, including aging playboy Hobie, who gets Grant hooked on hiking. But after Grant sets out on a solo hike and doesn't come back, Kim sn't sure whether he's left her or is in trouble. Eventually, a search is mounted, and Kim realizes how much Grant means to her. Clancy's colorful supporting characters (especially Basil's eccentric mother and Kim and Grant's twin daughters) add ballast to the skillful plotting. It's an enjoyable tale of love in middle age.