Starred review from September 19, 2022
Howrey (The Wanderers) delivers a poignant family story of alienation, regret, and desire. Carlisle Martin, 43, a Los Angeles choreographer, has learned that her father, Robert, whom she hasn’t seen for 19 years, is dying. As the daughter of two professional ballet dancers, Carlisle was a natural talent, and was especially driven to impress the astute Robert and his effusive partner, James, a ballet teacher. Growing up, she visited Robert and James two weeks a year (from her home in Ohio with her mother), relishing in the magic of their decadent Greenwich Village home. She especially craved James’s stories and strived to be closer to the pair. As she narrates in a flashback of her life at 24: “My father, I love, and James I sort of want to be. Maybe I mean: have?” But then she did something Robert won’t forgive her for (the details of which don’t come out till much later), and went on to build a career without the help of her family. Now, she learns she might inherit Robert and James’s house, according to the terms of her grandfather’s trust, causing a painful flood of memories and tension with the couple, whom she assumes want her to give the house to James. The fraught scenes provoke staggering bursts of emotion, such as a flashback to Carlisle at 12 returning from New York to Ohio and realizing she doesn’t feel like she belongs with her mother’s new family. Howrey expertly builds tension, leading the reader to feel alongside Carlisle both the draw of ballet and her anxiety about her reunion with her father. It’s a breathtaking performance. Agent: Emma Parry, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.
June 10, 2024
Interwoven with themes of family, love, loss, and forgiveness, Howrey's (The Wanderers) book takes listeners on a journey spanning decades as one woman tries to make sense of her life. Set in New York City and spanning the years from the beginning of the AIDS epidemic through 2016, the novel follows Carlisle, a choreographer who had once hoped to pursue a ballet career, as her parents did. As an adult, Carlisle is estranged from her father, Robert, but when she learns that he is dying, she reaches out to heal old wounds. Howrey narrates her own work, piercingly capturing Carlisle's perspective and creating an authentic listening experience. As a former dancer, Howrey allows her passion for dance to shine--in many ways, this is as much a love letter to ballet as it is about Carlisle's journey. Fans of Ian McEwan's Atonement will appreciate this book and the notion of how one seemingly small choice can reverberate throughout a lifetime. VERDICT A gorgeously written book that is both hopeful and devastating, touching upon themes of dance, family, death, and ultimately, glorious life.--Whitney Bates-Gomez
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