This very interesting novel takes us on an insightful
journey through the lives of Pearl Tull, a headstrong
woman
estranged from her husband after nearly fifteen years
of a
predictable marriage, and her three myriad-natured
children. While strong determination, and sometimes
ruthlessness, characterise Pearl's behavior, one cannot
help but sympathise with her struggle of providing for
her
children, looking after the household solely and tring
to
get on with life as normally as possible in such
abnormal
circumstances. The children, on their part, have not
only
to cope with their father's unexplained absence, but
also
have to endure their
mother's frequent volatile
tempers.
The novel craftily explores the effect of all this on
the
children's lives and how starkly opposite individuals
they
grew up to be. while Cody, the oldest son, develops a
deep-rooted hatred for his mother, not obvious in his
routine interactions with her, he also nurtures a streak of
vengeance for his soft-hearted younger brother. Jenny, the
whimsical and high-spirited daughter, goes through a series
of marriages to finally settle with a father of six. She is
a paeditrician and has a somewhat detached outlok on the
world. Ezra, his mother's fovorite son, is a goody at heart
as also often the loser at all the things he generally
wishes for. He however succeeds in esatablishing a
restaurant where he longs to realize his dream of a happy
and tranquil family dinner, a dream that keeps eluding him
till the very end.