From the house author and long-time favorite "writer's writer," the effortlessly smart, deliriously off-kilter story of an extended New Orleans family trying to reclaim a shadow of their former selves Mary Robison, author of Why Did I Ever -winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction, a New York Times Notable Book, and Book Sense 76 Pick- has written a new novel that is certain to gather as much attention and wild acclaim. The story opens on Jay, a location scout for a movie production company. It's the easiest job in the world; at the end of the day, she says, they should just ask her how it went and say "Super. Sounds like you had a good time." She is complacently married to Alt, who has just been diagnosed with a grave illness and gone back to his palatial family home, back to the care of his parents. Which is just fine with Jay-or so she tells herself at the start. But standing left of center of this still prosperous but mortally wounded family does not get easier as the weeks wear on. As she tries to negotiate her way around the anger of Saunders, Alt's despised twin brother; maintain her friendship with Petal, his beautiful wife; and protect what's left of the innocence of Collie, the niece caught in the middle, Jay finds more than the Louisiana heat getting to be oppressive. With her trademark biting humor and breathtaking facility with language, Mary Robison thus sets the stage for a beguiling Southern Gothic sure to delight both her fanatical following and new readers alike.