“The birds’ migration routes crisscrossed the map like a craze of telephone wires, swooping gracefully from one coast to another. They seemed almost to secure the world, all these well-travelled paths in the sky, the way ribbon or twine secures a precious gift. And yet, it occurred to Saga, all the creatures pictured here, though they might venture the whole world over, returned in the end to their separate colonies. Could you be a roving homebody?” (257-258)

I enjoyed Julia Glass’s first book, Three Junes, so I was really looking forward to reading her new novel – it didn’t disappoint.

To start with, Glass brought back my favourite character from ‘Junes,’ Scottish-expatriate/New Yorker Fenno MacLeod and his wonderful bookstore (and his parrot, Felicity). Some of my favourite scenes of her first novel took place in New York City, so I was pleased that the city was the backdrop for this book.

As in the first book, the characters are vibrant and painstakingly depicted. Within a few chapters, they felt like old friends. It took at least three chapters for me to feel at home in this book, perhaps because I disliked the main character, Greenie Duquette, so much. And despite Greenie’s ungenerous depiction of him, I felt an immediate sympathy for her husband Alan.

Greenie owns a pastry shop in New York City, supplying her wares to various restaurants, including Walter’s Place, owned by Walter himself, a gregarious gay man with a charmingly named dog, ‘The Bruce.’ After sampling her coconut cake, a Republican governor from New Mexico, Ray McRae, convinces her to be his chef. Greenie moves to New Mexico with her son, George, leaving Alan and her New York life behind.

The story unfolds from there. Fenno isn’t a central character, but he’s present throughout the book. My favourite character of this novel by far was Saga, a young woman who is recovering from a harrowing head injury and rebuilding her life.

Part of the magic of Julia Glass’s plots are the way the characters are intricately tied together. These serendipitous connections between people add depth and dimension to the plot. As I read, I was pulled along by the thread that weaved through these various lives.

At times, this book felt as real to me as a vivid dream and the characters lingered in my mind for days after finishing the last page. Highly recommended.