From Above Book

THE STORY: Evvy, in her fortiess, was married to Jimmy, in his seventies. She has been in mourning a year since he died, and now her friends want her seclusion to end. Sean, a local social worker, has been trying to woo her, to no avail. Evvy's neighbor, Linny, seems to have a crush on her. The only other people Evvy interacts with in this small lakeside community are Peaches, the town handyman, and Roz, a big mouthed co-worker of Evvy's who's been organizing the town to vote in favor of a hotel-casino referendum. What shocks Evvy out of mourning is the arrival of an attractive young man who says he's her late husband. He knows details about their house, her favorite foods, even where he stores his pipe tobacco. Unnerved by this new Jimmy's accuracy, Evvy gives way to the stranger even though he's clearly disoriented and possibly dangerous. But the chance to spend time with her husband again is too good to pass up, even if it is only make-believe. When Evvy's neighbors show up, Jimmy flees and isn't heard from again until months later, on the night of the referendum. Upon his return, he tells Evvy he's come from the local mental hospital and that her late husband was an old and trusted co-worker. With the mystery solved, Jimmy leaves with the kitten, now a cat, that he gave Evvy when he first showed up. Evvy settles down with Sean to watch the referendum returns while news helicopters fly over her cabin. She sees the roof of her own house on TV and realizes her perspective has been just as detached as the young man who claimed to be her husband. She looks at Sean and resolves to experience, at close range, what might be next. ‚¬¦Mr. Donaghy‚¬¦is a dramatist of inventive eloquence, finding the poetry of longing in the empty mantras and sound bites of contemporary pop culture. - NY Times. Skillful, smart, and funny‚¬¦brilliant dialogue‚¬¦Donaghy displays great talent in the handling of story. His ear for the comic eccentricities of ordinary speech is superb. - NY Daily News. Donaghy has‚¬¦mastered the Chekhovian tactic of having people say everything except what's on their mind. - Village Voice. Wonderfully intriguing. There's a freshness to everything [Donaghy] does which lets you hang on every word, savor every incident. - NY Post.