Glorie

The unlikely heroine of this remarkable first novel is Glorie, an independent-minded octo-genarian widow who still talks to her dead husband. Pampered by fifty years of marriage to a man she truly loved, Glorie finds that coping with life alone is a lot easier if you have some company. Despite her daughter's and other friends' well-meaning attempts to console her, Glorie is doing just fine, thank you very much -- except that sometimes things just seem to be slipping out of her grasp. Poignant and wise, funny and real, this portrait of an indomitable, fallible, and fragile woman will pull at your heartstrings as it buoys your spirit. With Glorie, New York Times critic Caryn James has written an unforgettable tale of memory and the persistence of love.