The Interruption of Everything

September 5, 2005
Marilyn Grimes is desperately frustrated with her life as a housewife and amateur crafts maker. The world seems to be conspiring against her, as she and her husband hit the emotional and physical rocks of middle age and her extended family keeps erupting in chaos. Emmy Award–winning Whitfield's attempt at husky male voices is awkward, but she does a great job with both older women (Marilyn's mother, who has Alzheimer's, and her sassy mother-in-law, who "elopes" with her new retirement home lover). Oddly, her voice as Marilyn is often not engaging. In some ways the weakness in her characterization is appropriate, as Marilyn claims her soul has been "in hiding" as she's catered to everyone else's needs. But some listeners may get bored by Marilyn's narration, especially compared to her lively girlfriends and family. Still, Whitfield was a natural choice for the part, and she mostly lives up to her reputation in delivering this journey of self-discovery. Also available unabridged on 10 CDs and narrated by Desiree Taylor. Simultaneous release with the Viking hardcover (Reviews, May 30).

May 30, 2005
Bestseller McMillan (A Day Late and a Dollar Short
) does what she does best in her long-awaited sixth novel. Her candid, spirited narrator is Marilyn Grimes, a 40-something wife and mother who's beginning to feel unappreciated by her family and underwhelmed by her 25-year marriage. With her three kids in college, Marilyn works part-time at a crafts store, feeds her neglected creative muse with various artsy projects, and jaws with her friends in their good-natured regular "Private Pity Party." Having always been there for others—her engineer husband, Leon; her drug-addicted sister, Joy, and Joy's two kids; her live-in mother-in-law, Arthurine; and her mother, Lovey—Marilyn wonders what it would be like to think of her own needs for once. Meanwhile Leon's questioning his professional future, his marriage and his fashion sense (he buys a Harley and starts dressing "like a chubby old hip-hopper"). As they seek their own solutions, Marilyn discovers she's pregnant, Lovey shows signs of Alzheimer's, Arthurine begins dating, Joy struggles to get sober and Marilyn's ex-husband reappears and awakens old feelings. With her trademark ability to write thought-provoking tales inspired by the lives and loves of contemporary African-American women, McMillan offers another novel sure to resonate with readers grappling with the questions Marilyn poses to herself. Agent, Molly Friedrich
.