Amy Poeppel, a Favorite Author

I've enjoyed several of Amy's books, and her latest is no exception. Musical Chairs is the kind of book that deals with the messiness of life and relationships, never simplifying into dependable tropes. In the end, it is a book about that moment when a whole set of lives seem to be in a state of flux--thrown into the air like so much confetti in the wind--and the way those lives resettle into new shapes and patterns which no one could have seen coming.

The main character, Bridget, has played the cello in a classical trio for decades. Her best friend, Will, the pianist, has been her constant companion but never her lover, and a series of violinists have rounded out the group. Bridget heads to her dilapidated summer home in Connecticut, expecting to bond with her boyfriend. Instead, the boyfriend dumps her, both her twenty-something children unexpectedly arrive, and her father the composer announces his engagement to the widow of his late best friend. Meanwhile, the new violin player who is supposed to join the trio proves elusive, Will falls for the local Connecticut florist, and the trio's manager begins to leave ominous messages about their commercial prospects.

To me, Poeppel writes women's fiction of the highest order. Her work is rich, entertaining, unpredictable, and utterly delightful. Like her previous work, Limelight, I'm sure this is a book I'll re-read over the years.