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Amy Lincoln, associate editor at the serious news weekly In Depth, is covering Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Bowles. The senator begins his campaign by announcing, "Our penile system is in atrocious shape!" Amy's life is in even worse condition. Phyllis, her mother, ran out when Amy was a baby, while her father went to prison. Shoplifting Grandma Lil, who looked like a member of the Potato Head family and wanted only to be upper class, raised her. Amy's poverty granted her a scholarship in a fancy boarding school --- and the chance to better herself while exiting her tumultuous family life.
Amy attends a party for Senator Bowles when a young man appears and claims to be the senator's son. Intrigued, Amy meets the boy, Freddy, to hear his story. When Freddy asks how a parent can just walk away from a child, Amy decides to call her father and search out the truth about her mother. The underlying mystery of her life can no longer be ignored, especially as she now wishes to have a family of her own. Unfortunately, as her desire for a baby peaks, her once-promising relationship declines. But Amy wonders if that's all for the best since she can't help harboring fears that she would follow her mother's pattern and become a defective, abandoning parent.
At first, Amy's search for her mother parallels her investigation of Senator Bowles's past. Then her own personal search takes off on its own, leading Amy to meet with some interesting characters, and skulk about like a detective. The more she discovers about her parent, the more mysteries unfurl before her. For example, if Phyllis came from a wealthy background, why did her upwardly aspiring mother-in-law detest her? Why hasn't Phyllis made any attempt to track Amy down?
As Amy inquires into her mother's life, and her own, her work provides a sometimes-interfering backdrop (leading Amy to muse that movie heroines don't seem to spend much time at employment). She also finds herself longing for her ex-boyfriend with passion, even as she half-heartedly searches for a likely successor. However, her yearning for John is hopeless; he has made it plain that the relationship is over. Is it a matter of her wanting only what she knows she can't have?
Amy's voice, and the funny little zingers throughout her story, along with the fascinating puzzle of Phyllis, hooked me. Add to that mix Amy's wealthy and quirky best friend, her endless craving for her nice guy ex-boyfriend, her bizarre upbringing, and a peek into the workings of a newsmagazine. Despite my few initial misgivings regarding much back-story and many subplots (at first I thought they tended to slow the plot; I soon grew to love them) I found ANY PLACE I HANG MY HAT to be an absorbing, enjoyable read.
--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)
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