Palaia, Marian

Riley tentatively connects with many characters and then loses them, and it is sometimes hard to keep track of all these downtrodden souls. There is a meaninglessness to Riley's experiences that don't seem to amount to anything in the end except a general exhaustion. However, debut novelist Palaia's prose is hypnotizing, and her fresh descriptions make the sadness portrayed bearable. This is a somber literary read but not without a dark beauty. [See Prepub Alert, 10/27/14.]