"An old-fashioned novel, in the best sense of that phrase, elegantly
wrought, hardheaded, and tenderhearted."--Michael Chabon on A Company
of Three
"A first novel that soars."--The New York Times on Like China
As America emerges from the Depression, the Hatherfords build a
comfortable life just outside of New York City, in rural Bergen County,
New Jersey. They are a glamorous couple: Vern is the charismatic owner
of a successful Ford dealership, and his flamboyant wife Maeve is
beautiful even in middle age. When their three-year-old son Scott falls
prey to polio, and later, another son must go to war, their marriage
slowly implodes. In the midst of it all, twelve-year-old Patsy steals
swallows of whiskey and tries to make sense of the world around her,
which includes an unusual intimacy between her brother Scott, and
Julian, a young African American boy who lives among them.
Neither historical nor medical fiction, The Cure offers the pleasures
of both in its richly complex portrayal of the lives and times of its
characters. A beautifully written family saga about race, war, childhood
illness, and romantic desire, The Cure has at its heart wounding and
the struggle for hope.
Varley O'Connor is the author of A Company of Three (Algonquin,
2003) and Like China (Morrow, 1991). She has taught writing at Hofstra
University; Brooklyn College; University of California, Irvine; and the
Squaw Valley Community of Writers. She has been an actress for
television, theater, and film and lives in Brooklyn, New York.
