I had a lot of fun last week with Sing Them Home: A Novel by Stephanie Kallos. My sister lent me the book; it's set in Nebraska, in the county next to the one where we grew up.
It's a long sucker, 560 pages, but I really didn't mind. Had I had more time I might have got through it in a few days.
The basic story: 20 years ago, a tornado struck Emlyn Springs, and the doctor's wife disappeared, never to be seen again. Now the doctor himself has died (never play golf in a thunderstorm, fool!), and his three children are getting together to lay the doctor to rest - the doctor, the stories of his wife, the various relationships, etc.
The book is really good with character development. The book centers on the (grown) children - an overweight professor with a fear of flying, a television weatherman and, well, we used to call them "womanizers," and the youngest, herself injured in the tornado, with no focus anyone seems to recognize. Other characters involve the doctor's longtime companion, and the missing mother (via memories and journal entries.)
The writing and conversation felt very natural, with only occasional hiccups, none of which I can think of now.
Warning: I am probably a bit prejudiced about this book, as I have spent part of my summer with my siblings, dealing with my father's household and memories of my mother. The book was almost spooky at times because of that.
I'll probably go get her next book as soon as I get even partway through the current backlog.
