Quindlen,Anna. Blessings: A Novel.

Lydia Blessing is the crabby matriarch of Blessings, an estate built with her father's dreams and her mother's money. Lydia has been long widowed and is still mourning the death of her brother when the novel opens. Particularly frugal, Lydia makes the drive to a Wal-Mart in quest of paper towels cheaper than those her maid has been purchasing. It is in the Wal-Mart parking lot, her Rolls-Royce suddenly uncooperative, that she meets Skip and offers him a job as caretaker of her estate. The fact that Skip has recently completed a stint in jail is of no concern to Lydia, who considers herself a good judge of character.

Not long after Skip's arrival at Blessings, a young couple make the treck up the long driveway to the estate with a cardboard box; in it, a newborn baby. Though destined for the big house, the couple leave the package off at the garage where it is promptly discovered by Skip, who decides to keep her. The baby, who he names Faith, spends evenings in the bottom drawer of his dresser above the garage. In the afternoons, Skip carries her around in a shoulder sling, hunched over on the tractor, hoping that Ms.Blessings, her eyes pealed to her binoculars will not notice. Of course, she does.

While you immediately know that Lydia will become co-conspirator in this game of hide-and-seek, Quindlen writes so eloquently that the reader comes to feel fondness and compassion for her, gaining insight into what has made her the woman she is. Slowly, like an apple pealing, long-kept secrets are revealed which draw you closer and closer into each of the characters lives. When Faith is discovered, as she must be, the reader finds she has a vested interest in the outcome.

Quindlen evokes a strong sense of place. One can almost touch the trout pond and feel the water on young Lydia's skin as she recalls her youth. You feel the cold earth on your hands as Skip works with the landscaping. While the title refers to the experience of each character in the book, the reader can't help but feel that she too has been blessed by the pure pleasure of being a part of this story.

Nanci Milone Hill, October 17, 2002.