Lux

by Maria Flook

Book Overview

A searing, poignant, darkly comic novel set on Cape Cod by the author of the bestselling true crime story Invisible Eden. Young Alden Warren's husband has vanished without a trace. Her daily routine... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316000922
• ISBN13: 9780316000925
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

A great read!

Maria Flook is a very talented writer. I'm at a point in my life where there isn't enough time to give a book 50 pages to find out if it's any good. (Although, "Life of Pi" didn't grab me until page 98 but I was told to stick it out so I made an exception!). Lux held my attention from the get go and the characters were so well crafted that I felt I knew them. Rick Fingerman, CFP

Characters with Bizarre Actions at Times But Worth a Read

Maria Flook takes the reader on a trip through the turbulent and dysfunctional life of Alden Warren. Set on the Cape, Lux introduces Alden, an apologetic naturalist, who is slowly growing mad as she deals with the disappearance of her husband and her intense desire for a child and Lux Davis, a local gardener dealing with nightmares from his past, whose revelations may destroy their newfound relationship. Flook illustrates the underbelly of Cape life through Alden and Lux's romance, which is peppered with bizarre displays of affection on the parts of the lovers and alternating scenes of how the two deal with the other lovers whom they have entertained. The reader learns of Lux's unconventional living arrangements with his sister-in-law and of the intense longings and emptiness that fill Alden's every waking hour. Unwilling to let go of her husband, yet also unwilling to let opportunity pass her by, Alden's conflicting motives about life, love and children begin to stack into an unstable tower of emotions. The reader follows Alden's journey through her marriage, with revelations that will redeem her...or destroy her. Intense scenes of almost-discovery and near-confession are insufficient to prepare the reader for what comes next. Lux eventually finds a sort of redemption, while Alden whips herself into a frenzy of misdemeanors, leading to a chilling climax that leaves the reader wanting more.

Flook's brilliant mix of poetry and roguish characters

As The National Seashore's bookstore clerk, Alden Warren focuses on stranded sea turtles and other innocents while confronting an ugly past: the disappearance of a philandering husband two years prior. Struggling to remain unaffected, she lusts after a married man while desperately trying to adopt a local foster baby living the neglected life. But everyone in town --- including the social worker she works with to gain the child --- knows Alden's interests are carefully chosen distractions from her husband tragedy. She can't get a break. Then Alden's diversions give way to a real relationship with offbeat landscaper Lux Davis, whose wild intelligence she finds congenially refreshing. Their intense attraction results in a series of reckless adventures involving dumping deceased animals in the cars of those who malign Alden: the married man who, ultimately, can't take "no" for an answer and the social worker who can't take "yes" (I want this child) for an answer. Unbeknownst to Alden, Lux has his own morbid past surrounding her husband's vanishing. Lux, or "Light" --- as defined by Alden's best friend, an elderly volunteer named Hyram (another well-chosen diversion) --- is symbolic. Downtrodden with a neurological condition causing him to "freeze," Lux desires Alden because she fulfills his idea of light: love with another misfit who can accept an eccentric disorder. Likewise, he represents her nirvana. The irony is in their romance's backdrop, an unmerciful, stormy ocean environment involving murder. Equally visited by inner demons related to the husband's disappearance and childhood trauma, Lux and Alden identify via inner and outer climates. It is a rare writer who can mix poetry with roguish characters. Maria Flook does this brilliantly. Her passages, even when describing a dead turtle being belted into a car, remain ethereal. But it is a bestselling writer who accomplishes Flook's evanescence while prioritizing plot. Flook doesn't quite succeed. Many scenarios are dreamlike, diverging from the story. An exquisite writer, Flook has been commended for her sharp, Woody Allen-like humor: In recalling one scene, a customer-weary Alden gives a new homeowner more information than is bargained for by telling the customer that the area's damp air causes year-round sinus problems. Here's hoping Flook capitalizes more on such funny witticisms! --- Reviewed by Sara Webb Quest

A charmer

Alden Warren lives year round in Cape Cod where she works at the National Park Service's Cape Cod National Seashore Visitor Center. Her mother neglected her as a child while her father spent more time in jail than with his family. Two years ago her husband Monty vanished; everyone assumes he left either to escape Alden or found a new female. His leaving has left his spouse even more imbalanced in terms of relationships except for her birds. Even with her failure with her "loved" ones, she yearns for a child, but unbeknownst to her the state sees her as poor choice. Alden sees a car accident, rescuing the infant child of local porn star Layla. She dreams of raising the baby who is with the state. Meanwhile landscaper Lux Davis works at fixing the shrubbery damaged by Layla's accident. He desperately wants Alden, but makes no move because he feels guilty. While driving a school bus under the influence, he killed and buried Monty at the sight of the damage shrubbery he is fixing. Cape Cod in many ways steals the show from a weird relationship drama in which the prime couple is just starting to come together, but ghosts especially Monty stand in their way. The story line hooks the reader mostly because of the scenery, but also whether Lux and Alden can find each other. However, while they struggle, fans will find no one affable to care what happens to them yet they will still enjoy this tale. Harriet Klausner