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The DISTANT SHORES in the title of Kristin Hannah's new book are Elizabeth and Jack Shore, a long married couple whose relationship is in crisis. Outwardly successful, with two bright daughters in college, each wonders where the passion has gone and whether it can ever be rekindled. Elizabeth, called Birdie by her friends, has devoted her life to her children, her husband, her house, and volunteer work. And although Jack's television jobs have taken them all over the country, now, in the small town of Echo Beach on the Oregon coast, she finally has a house that feels like home.
Jack is restless in his job as a noontime anchor in Portland, Oregon, and continues to hunt the big story that will give him another chance in the media big leagues. He blew his first one following the knee injury that ended his football career and left him addicted to painkillers, but he won't let that happen again. A hot story about a star college athlete and date rape lands in his lap, followed closely by an aggressive, beautiful young assistant named Sally. Jack is wooed away to New York and renewed fame as a sports broadcaster.
Birdie follows him once again --- reluctantly --- but when her beloved father dies she returns home to the Oregon coast to figure things out. A friend has suggested a Women's Passion Support Group, and Birdie promises to attend one meeting. There, she finds the encouragement she needs to begin to paint again. In college she was always told she had talent and now, as she handles the brushes, she feels exhilarated but doubtful about her abilities. Her cute painting instructor pressures her into a new gallery, where the eccentric proprietress talks her into contributing five paintings to an Arts Festival. Meanwhile, lying to the girls about their parents' separation becomes onerous. But when Birdie's stepmother Anita, with whom she's never gotten along, comes to stay, Birdie discovers there is a lot more to Anita, and to her own past, than she ever knew.
Ms. Hannah handles the threads and characters of her story expertly, making Jack and Birdie believable and sympathetic. We get to know enough about their past and their children to really care about whether their marriage survives. Both of the main characters grow --- Elizabeth must learn not to give up on painting, even when none of them sell, and Jack discovers the value --- and the necessity --- of putting his family before his career. By the time they do get back together, readers will have long since mutilated three or four Kleenexes.
So is this book a romance? Or "women's fiction?" I don't read many romances but I recognize a couple of conventions --- there is no concern about finances, for example. And when the cute painting instructor kisses Birdie, she feels nothing; nothing like those fiery kisses Jack used to lay on her. "I guess I'm more married than I thought." Whereas Jack follows his, um, passion right into bed with Sally, numerous times, until he gains the wisdom to tell her, "I don't want to be sleeping with a woman simply because I can." This is the good old double standard that has been pissing me off for years, but that's my problem, and in terms of the book, it's a very small problem. In addition to a satisfying story, there is much good writing here. I enjoyed DISTANT SHORES and I imagine millions of other women will too.
--- Reviewed by Eileen Zimmerman Nicol
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