Can't get to Europe this year because of high airfares? Stay home and tour Cardiff, Wales instead in this intriguing, sardonic novel. Kate Flynn, a single English professor, returns to her family's falling-down mansion in the provinces to take care of her Mum, Billie, who has dementia. Kate's in her forties, life has not turned out as she'd expected: her American romantic partner has just married someone else, and she finds herself in the midst of a mid-life crisis. But she connects with the brother of a dear friend--they share a passion for classical music, and she finds herself in the family's master bedroom with another man, someone much younger, whom she instructs on the ways of loving. It's all rather convoluted and complicated, but the author draws believable characters, especially teenagers. Billie's confusion spreads to Kate and her friends, and in the end all the main characters must make important choices. Full of quirky humor and incisive commentary on modern relationships, this book is fun, substantive, and never boring.
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