The Laws of HarmonyJudith Ryan Hendricks, 2009
HarperCollins
480 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780061687365
Summary
In 1989 Sunny Cooper escaped to Albuquerque. Fourteen years later she's still there, struggling to make a living, to shore up her floundering relationship, and to forget her childhood on the New Mexico commune, Armonía, where a freak accident killed her younger sister, Mari.
Just when the "normal" life Sunny craves appears to be within reach, another accident—the sudden death of her fiancé, Michael, and revelations that their relationship was not what it seemed—will turn her world upside down. Once again, Sunny escapes, this time to the Pacific Northwest town of Harmony on San Miguel Island.
When a surprising discovery sparks an emotional encounter for Sunny with her estranged mother, Gwen, she must re-examine the truth of her memories. Only by making peace with the past can Sunny finally step out of its shadow and into a new life. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Santa Clara Valley, California, USA
• Currently—lives in Sante Fe, New Mexico
A former journalist, copywriter, computer instructor, travel agent, waitress, and baker, Judith Ryan Hendricks is the author of several novels, including the bestseller Bread Alone, which first introduced readers to Wynter Morrison. (Adapted from the publisher.)
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Her own words:
• I was born in Silicon Valley when it was known as the Santa Clara Valley, or, more poetically, the Valley of Heart’s Delight, because it was a lovely, bucolic place known for its orchards and sleepy small towns. Which means if you have any mathematical ability at all, you can figure out that I’m older than I act.
• I had a boringly happy childhood in a middle-class suburban family with my parents, who recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary, and my younger brother. My mother instilled in me a love of reading, and I branched out from there into writing, although it took me a while to get serious about it.
• The first thing I remember writing, when I was about 7 years old, was a story about a family whose Christmas tree went missing. That was followed by a few plays coauthored with my best friend, Lynn Davis, and performed in her garage to a captive audience of intimidated younger kids. The plays were mostly outer space/cowboy stories—don’t ask. In junior high it was gothic romance thrillers, and high school was given over to bad poetry about the varsity basketball team. (From the author's website.)
Book Reviews
Satisfying psychological depth and original characters help move along Hendricks's clumsily plotted latest. Sunny Cooper still has problems with Gwen, her mother. Raised on a New Mexico commune, Sunny now lives in Albuquerque with her boyfriend, Michael, doing voice-over work. When Michael is killed in a mysterious accident, Sunny discovers he was not who she thought he was, and creditors and cops inundate her. Looking for solace, Sunny heads back to the commune, where she finds her mother to be the same maddening hippie chick she always was. Again, fed up and out of options, Sunny decides to sell everything and leave, this time for San Miguel Island off the coast of Washington, where, in a little town called Harmony, she tries to rebuild her life. But events from her past follow her to the island, and before long she's heading off-island for some closure. Hendricks's gentle humor and vivid depictions of island and communal life put a little sugar on the unfortunate and overbusy plot.
Publishers Weekly
Hendricks has an engaging narrative voice that will pull readers right into this story of a damaged woman who is more resilient than she realizes.
Booklist
Discussion Questions
1. What does Sunny Cooper's flexible assortment of occupations—voice-over artist, personal errand runner, obsessive baker—suggest about her personality and her professional focus?
2. How do the suspicious circumstances surrounding Michael Graham's death and his behavior prior to his disappearance make him seem like a stranger to Sunny?
3. How do the detailed descriptions of food and cooking in The Laws of Harmony affect your reading experience? Which were most memorable to you and why?
4. Why does Betsy Chambliss conceal her betrayal from Sunny, and could there be any possible justification for her behavior?
5. How does the tragic death of her younger sister, Mari, factor into Sunny's feelings about growing up in the commune in Armonía?
6. Sunny can't wait to get away from Armonía, but after almost fourteen years on her own, the normality and stability she craves still elude her. Why is this? To what extent is the summer idyll with her grandparents in California responsible for her sense of living an unmoored life?
7. Why do you think the author chose to explore the strange coincidence of Sunny's having been raised in Armonía, and her having turned up in a town called Harmony? What does this convergence suggest, and to what extent do you think the names might be intended ironically?
8. How would you characterize Sunny's feelings about her mother, Gwen, returning to her life? To what extent is their relationship irretrievably fractured?
9. What does JT's reaction to the news of Sunny's pregnancy reveal about his character and their romantic potential as a couple?
10. What do you think the ending of the book suggests for Sunny, her future life in San Miguel, and her relationships with JT, Gwen, and the others on whom she has come to depend?
(Questions issued by publisher.)
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