BLOWN AWAY BY AMY BLOOM'S AWAY

Just wondering how many readers have had the chance to get their hands on Amy Bloom's wonderful new novel, Away.

I read it over the past 10 days and most certainly agree with the Publisher's Weekly reviewers who say it is "absolutely stunning". The novel is not long, a short 256 pages, but it is so packed with details, characters and amazing geographic settings that it is not only a thrilling page-turner, it also full of humor, suspense, desire, heartbreak, the danger of re-inventing one's self and, most importantly, love.

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Amy Bloom and being present at her reading of this splendid novel. She entertained the small audience with a tale or two of her writing experiences and her new career, which involves writing tv screeplays for the Lifetime channel's State of Mind. Bloom read many passages from Away, most certainly whetting the appetite of those who had not yet tried this book. I feel this is one of the year's best books because of Bloom's description of Lillian's panoramic odyssey and the understanding of the heart.

In a nutshell, Away focuses one Lillian Leyb, an Russian immigrant to America, who has tragically lost her entire family and barely survived a pogram in her small village, circa mid-1920s. She makes a life for herself in NY, living with relatives and surviving as mistress to one man, a sort of decoy to another. Lillian knows she can get by and actaully makes the most of her existence, that is, until the one day a cousin, presumed dead, shows up, telling Lillian that Lillian's own small daughter is not dead, but alive and well. It is at this juncture that Away changes from a story of "getting by" to one of sheer survival, as Lillian travels from the east coast all the way to Alaska, in an attempt to leave the U.S. to reach Siberia and re-claim this child. What begins as a small tale of immigrant life develops into a study of human nature in some of the country's most remote regions. A special trick Bloom uses, a tiny bit of telegraphing what the characters' future holds by giving out small details as the story rolls forward, is an especially nice touch. This book is a extraordinary: striking, hypnotic and unforgettable. You'll certainly be swept away...