JDCMustReadBooks

By T. Greenwood

ISBN-13: 9780758228789

Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation

Publication date: 2/1/2010

Pages: 384

My Rating: 5 Stars 

This is my fifth book by T. Greenwood and starting my sixth, (Two Rivers) today!

As you can see, am not reading them in specific order. Once you have read one book by this talented author, you cannot stop until you read everything she has written-while anxiously awaiting her next masterpiece. I actually started and finished it in same day. 

It is so hard to say which book is my favorite, as each and every one is a unique story. The author has a way of taking flawed characters and developing them into beautiful stories which will warm your heart and soul, and leave you pondering for hours after the book ends. T. Greenwood is in a class by herself and is hard to compare her to other writers; she gets to the heart of social issues, and not afraid to tackle them--put them out there in order for her characters to begin healing and starting over. 

“The Hungry Season” is no exception, as the readers guide and discussion questions are worth hours of book club and on line further discussions. Wow, what I would give to have her as a writing teacher – can you imagine?

The Mason family is suffering after the loss of their daughter and heads from San Diego to Vermont (one of my favorite places), to their favorite summer lake house which they now buy, in order to escape the city and try and bring their life back to some sense of normal. 

Each one of them has issues to overcome: Sam, the father is suffering from writer’s block with a deadline hanging over him and sexual impotence. His wife, Mena is trying to fix her family desperately, and her marriage to get back what they have lost. Lastly, Finn (the twin left behind) is acting out in all sorts of ways in order to feel something.

Of course at the center of the novel is Franny. The book begins and ends with her presence and is about those she left behind. At the time of the novel she has died; however, the cause of death is not disclosed until towards the end, as this family tries desperately to forgive themselves, to begin nourishing one another. 

Love the way the author uses “hungry” throughout the novel as it relates eating disorders, bulimia, sexual, strong needs, desire, or force. There are also secondary characters which experience hunger in different ways. 

As a note from the author, she so eloquently describes, “For some people deprived of necessary sustenance, hunger is suffering. Conversely, for some it can be a source of power and this love affair with hunger is irresistible to some, despite its often lethal consequences.” 

What a beautiful and compelling story, articulated with clarity and sensitivity.