Blessings / by Anna Quindlen

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A journalist for the New York Times, Anna Quindlen won a Pulitzer for her column "Public and Private" in 1992 just prior to becoming a full-time author. Blessings focuses on the intersecting lives of two isolated individuals when an infant girl is dropped at the doorstep of a wealthy widow.

In the wee hours of a summer morning, a teenage couple drives up to an unknown house, stopping only to leave a small object near the entrance before taking off again into the night. . .

Only 19, Skip Cuddy's already done time in the big house. Well, not exactly, more like ten months in the municipal jail and then only because he took the fall for a "friend" after a routine prank gone awry. Now back into things, his new life as caretaker of a large estate is no pie in the sky; but it could be worse, his dad might come around again.

The casualty of a bygone era, Lydia Blessing's no stranger to sadness. Its been years since the passing of her husband and she's steadily learned to accept the unalterable despondency inhabiting her secluded life. It's not that she misses him exactly, just that other life, that "before" life which had or seemed to have some semblance of taste, some substance at least to balance the creeping monotony at her gloomy New England estate house.

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Blessings might capture the charm of 'cozy' fiction, but it's far more insightful than your prototypical domestic lit. A rare book that manages to balance sentiment and realism, it recognizes that imperfections continue and errors are repeated even with maturity of the characters. Sympathetic as they are, Lydia and Skip still epitomize everyday society (flawed) rather than resemble anything noble or distinguished. Smart and worldwise Skip lacks the experience to deal with adult-type issues while Lydia, as one confronted with repressed memories (masked by irascibility), sees her emotional void as a product of external circumstances rather than an internal inability to adapt. Not that there's much 'dark' about the book; heavy on compassion, the style--with its skillful prose--remains permanently sensitive to the reader, delivering the story at a steady pace eloquently interweaving descriptive narrative and genuine dialogue.