Table for Seven: A Novel
Gaskell’s (When You Least Expect It, 2010) engaging novel is a high-wire artist’s performance as she spins a highly entertaining tale of a monthly dinner party. It interweaves the lives of two couples; a young widow; a single, older man; and the extremely attractive, man-about-town bachelor and longtime friend of the family, Coop. Gaskell deftly leads readers through narrative arcs as Coop performs a flirty dance; the widow chides herself for knowing better but not caring, despite multiple second thoughts; and a husband’s nearly obsessive attention to the fledgling tennis career of his daughter from his first marriage strains his second. The allure of robot building comprises a siren’s song far outshining the joys of family life and responsibilities for another husband, and, adding to the mix, an informal competition for the best dinner heats up in this ensemble drama that could easily be adapted for stage or screen. --Whitney Scott