The Birthdays

Description

A charming, moving and hugely readable novel of families, pregnancy, doubt and celebration. The Millers, an ordinary American family, are travelling to a small island off the coast of Maine where they will celebrate their father's 75th birthday. All three adult children are expecting children of their own and at the same time, find themselves at major crossroads in their lives. Eldest son Daniel, a graphic designer, is still reeling from the car accident a year ago that left him paraplegic. Jake, the middle child, has found wealth and success but feels increasingly irrelevant to his wife, especially since she has found out she's carrying twins. Hilary, the free-spirit, youngest daughter, and apple of her father's eye, does not know who the father of her child is. Finally, their mother, Ellen, has recently become attached to the husband of her dead friend. As the Miller family gathers, an unexpected incident shatters the celebrations and it seems that nobody will emerge quite the same. Written with great emotional and psychological insight, The Birthdays is a journey into the harrowing and redemptive heart of family life. This story of marriage and impending parenthood is certain to establish Heidi Pitlor as a rare new voice in literary fiction.

Heidi Pitlor is an editor at Houghton Miffin in Boston. Her fiction has appeared in Ploughshares. This is her first novel.

"'At her best, she comes close to the tender grace that defines Anne Tyler's writing.' Observer"