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020			_a0-415-21185-5
082			_223 _a813.6 _bINC
100			_aInclan, Jessica Barksdale
245			_aThe Matter of Grace:/ _cJessica Barksdale Inclan- _heng
260			_aNew York: _bPenguin Group, _c2004.
300			_a289p. _bsoftbound _c10x17cm.
505			_a"Four Oakland women who meet every week at a local swim club find the limits of their friendship tested in Incl n's engaging, down-to-earth second novel. Grace White is the beautiful, stoic redhead who survived her initial bout with skin cancer, but the disease has returned after a lengthy remission, forcing her to break the news to her three best friends. The other members of the 30-something quartet do their best to help out and support Grace, but they have their own personal problems: Felice Gaitreaux's marriage to her college sweetheart, James, is in serious trouble, while Helen Jordan is having an affair with a younger man and Stella Steinberg is about to have her life turned upside down by a surprise pregnancy. Incl n's writing about the dizzyingly twirls of the marital merry-go-round occasionally veers toward soap opera, but the novel turns compelling during a series of revelations that lead Grace's friends to suspect her of going to incredible lengths to conceal an eating disorder. Inclan (Her Daughter's Eyes) has a sharp, compassionate feel for how women look at relationships, sex and marital issues; her female characters are strong and well drawn, although their male counterparts often seem a bit incomplete. The twists and turns of Grace's story will keep readers guessing until the final chapters, and Incl n's laudable decision to steer around the usual happy ending is both honest and realistic without being overly grim."
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999			_c8579 _d8579