Kidnap was not the right word. John had simply meant to take Clara to breakfast at the corner diner, where they had good poached eggs and were especially kind to babies. But in the end he couldn’t explain the inexorable pull, the electric thrum that made him rise from the bed, strangely untethered, and begin to shave with scalding water, or the innocence of his motive — he just wanted to be with her. He couldn’t describe the indefinite urgency that had propelled him. Yes, he took the baby with him, but she was his daughter.
As the cab driver wound his way through the tangle of the West Village, John sorted the mail. He found a thick envelope from the passport agency; he’d commandeered the whole family to the downtown office one morning for passports and then dim sum, arguing that they’d go away eventually. He looked for his renewal first. His eyes were clear amber, deadpan, almost criminally expressionless. Veronica looked suspiciously happy in hers, her smile too white above the blue scarf at her throat. In Clara’s photo he admired the single pale tuft of sparse hair (it had since fallen out), the peachy globe of her cheek, her bright dark-blue eyes vaguely crossed as she lay on a white sheet; the same photo she would use for five years.
“If you could go back,” he said, “to Crosby Street — ” The car inched through the gray, clotted streets then sped down Varick. But as they drove east on Canal, past the first fleet of commuters emerging from the Holland Tunnel, the early trucks with Chinese letters creaking under their own weight, as they rolled quietly over the cushion of snow, he marveled at the speed of transportation, the remarkable will of all these travelers: To deliver star fruit to Canal Street, to deliver bread to Mott, to leave a quiet New Jersey lawn and jump into the fray, and at the end of the day to jump out of the fray. To jump out of the fray. This frozen season could vanish, revealing the brightness of the next. He was not ready to go home, and the driver, as if in accord, was lost. They slipped onto Bowery and then to the faded grandeur of Delancey. Up ahead there was the Williamsburg Bridge, a magical leap over the water, and before John had told himself what he was doing, he told the driver the way he liked to get to Kennedy.
“Foreign or domestic?” The driver’s eyes waited like two dark gems in the rearview mirror. To the right of the mirror, he’d taped a photo of a child in pink footie pajamas. There were certain universal joys. For a beat the street beneath them was seamless, an inimical gray dream, dotted as far as John could see with green lights.
“Foreign.”
The above is an excerpt from the book The Sunshine When She’s Gone by Thea Goodman. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.
Copyright © 2013 Thea Goodman, author of The Sunshine When She’s Gone
The Sunshine When She’s Gone
Jack just wants to let his wife sleep, but his initially altruistic intention leads him on an adventure with the baby that will make any mother cringe. Meanwhile, his wife Veronica wakes to find them gone and takes the time he’s given her to have her own adventures in the city….and almost destroys her marriage in the process.
This story alternates between John and Veronica’s points of view allowing the reader to hear what each is thinking and experiencing.
Personally, I was unable to really connect with these characters even though I can relate to some of their feelings about having kids. I really didn’t like Veronica because I couldn’t imagine a mom not knowing where her child was for 48 straight hours. Even though she does worry, it doesn’t really stop her from pretending she’s young and single in the city again.
John takes off, to a foreign country, with his child with only the clothes on their back and very little of what it takes to properly care for a child for an hour let alone 48. I know it bothers me at times when my husband just picks up the kids and walks out the door to where ever we’re going, but he would never think of going to a foreign country without at least a few supplies!
Although this book did create these negative responses for me, I think that it would be a good book for Book Clubs because of the discussions that it would prompt. I can imagine the differing views people would have on each of these characters and the discussion that would come would be very lively I’m sure.
The Sunshine When She’s Gone
You can currently find it in hard back, audio and Kindle versions.
What do you think?
Disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this book, but I ended up buying an audio version because I prefer to listen to books. All opinions are 100% my own.