Author

Publication

1999 - Random House, New York, New York (State)

Language

English

Word Count

66,750 words, Guess

Page Count

267 pages

Identifiers

  • Open LibraryOL389281M
  • ISBN-100375502866
  • OCLC Control Number40408903
  • Library of Congress Control Number98053463
  • Goodreads1762788
and 1 more
  • LibraryThing167574

Classifications

  • DDC813/.54
  • LCCPS3576.E37 L39 1999

Description

Throw aside your idea of a heroine, and meet Claire Newbold. Despite hardship - a young child's death, infertility, an unfaithful husband - wry, ferocious Claire has been trying to soldier on. But then she simply checks out of job and home to confront love and loss on the road. During the leave of absence she takes from her usual life, her behavior ranges from the illicit to - she fears - the deranged. She develops a scam for staying in hotel rooms without paying. She seduces a teenage boy at a hotel swimming pool. Armed with a dangerous amount of medical lore (her husband is a surgeon), she pursues a diagnosis that might explain everything. Claire even comes to believe that she is clairvoyant - able to "read" the souls of people she encounters on her travels. And eventually she begins to see into her own soul. Some might call her sexual exploits "casual"; to Claire they are anything but. As she struggles to repair her marriage and her life, she surprises herself - and us - by emerging with a new sense of redemption.

First Sentence

I packed for homelessness the way I would pack for a week in Europe-wrinkle-free, in a carry-on.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • Layover: a novelRandom House1999-01-01

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