Mermaids

The author of Mermaids reunites the unforgettable women of the Flax family decades later: "Its plot twists will make you laugh-after you wipe away tears." -Sally Koslow, author of The Real Mrs. Tobias Now in her early forties with a grown son and two grandchildren, Charlotte Flax has never forgotten the year she spent as a teenager in Grove, Massachusetts, with her mother and little sister. When she finds out that their old house there, one of the many the family occupied over the years, is available for rent, Charlotte moves in and plans a birthday party for her flighty-as-ever mother. Some things have changed-the nearby convent has given way to real estate interests. Some things have not-Charlotte still has feelings about Joe, her first love. This upcoming reunion will stir up a lot of memories-and some trouble-and test the ability of relationships to survive over time . . . "Patty Dann, through Charlotte's unique voice, propels us back into the careening lives of the Flax women. Funny, sad, chaotic, mysterious, moving, searching, they are above all a family." -Richard Benjamin, director of Mermaids Praise for Mermaids and the novels of Patty Dann "Dann gives us a magnificent voice in the young Charlotte . . . Both hilarious and tragic . . . a radiant debut." -The New York Times Book Review "A marvel . . . brilliant." -Elinor Lipman, author of Good Riddance "Poignant." -Sheila Kohler, author of Once We Were Sisters and Cracks "Both of [the sisters'] characters are sharply etched and recognizable." -Publishers Weekly

A teenager follows along as her mother moves from town to town-and man to man-in this coming-of-age novel: "Both hilarious and tragic . . . a radiant debut." -The New York Times Book Review The inspiration for the cult-classic film starring Winona Ryder, Christina Ricci, and Cher, this novel is narrated by Charlotte Flax, a fourteen-year-old helplessly dragged by her mother from place to place, brief affair to brief affair. When they settle into a quiet New England town in 1963, the teenager yearns to stay put for once. With a convent just steps away from their home, this could be Charlotte's chance to fulfill her dream of becoming a martyred Catholic saint-despite the fact that she's Jewish. At the same time, the young caretaker at the convent is inspiring some unsaintly thoughts . . . "Patty Dann gives us a magnificent voice in the young Charlotte . . . Compelling and tender, touching and alive in her search to find some order in the chaos of her life." -The New York Times Book Review "This is a really funny book about people trying to find something to hang onto in a world that keeps shifting under their feet. Patty Dann guides us through the guerilla war between mother and daughter, through the minefields that lie between being a child and being an adult, in a voice not like any we've heard before." -John Sayles, director and novelist "Moments of pure gold . . . An energetic talent." -Kirkus Reviews "Both of [the sisters'] characters are sharply etched and recognizable." -Publishers Weekly "Poignant . . . a quirky charm." -Booklist