Paradise Park A Novel

Allegra Goodman has delighted readers with her critically acclaimed collectionsTotal ImmersionandThe Family Markowitz, and her celebrated first novel,Kaaterskill Falls, which was a national bestseller and aNational Book Awardfinalist. Abandoned by her folk-dancing partner, Gary, in a Honolulu hotel room, Sharon realizes she could return to Bostonand her estranged familyor listen to that little voice inside herself. The voice that asks: "How come Gary got to pursue his causes, while all I got to pursue was him?" Thus, with an open heart, a soul on fire, and her meager possessions (a guitar, two Indian gauze skirts, a macrame bikini, and her grandfather's silver watch) Sharon begins her own spiritual quest. Ever the optimist, she is sure at each stage that she has struck it rich "spiritually speaking"until she comes up empty. Then, in a karmic convergence of events, Sharon starts on the path home to Judaism. Still, even as she embraces her tradition, Sharon's irrepressible self tugs at her sleeve. Especially when she meets Mikhail, falls truly in love at last, and discovers what even she could not imagineher destiny.

Allegra Goodman's work has appeared in <i>The New Yorker</i>, <i>Allure</i>, <i>Commentary</i>, and <i>Slate</i>. She is the recipient of a Whiting Award and the <i>Salon</i> magazine award for fiction. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she is at work on her next book.<br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>