The Hunger Moon

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A moving first novel about the power of friendship to change lives, that will remind readers of Anne Tyler and Alice Hoffman.Renata, a waitress, has left her boyfriend Bryan without telling him he is about to become a father. She drives cross-country to begin a new life in Boston with her baby son, Charlie, hoping to stay free of emotional entanglements and the associations of a painful childhood. Eleanor, a seventy-eight-year-old widow, finds herself gradually stripping away the layers of complication in her life until she is living in virtually a plain white room. June, a young dance student, is dangerously obsessed with thinness to mask her loneliness.The three women, from very different social backgrounds and age, meet by chance and their lives become unexpectedly linked. An emergency involving baby Charlie and the unannounced appearance of Bryan culminates in a dramatic and satisfying conclusion.From Library JournalIn her first novel, Matson has created an interesting triangle of female characters. Renata, Eleanor, and June meet through a series of chance encounters, and their lives become entwined. Renata has driven from Oregon to Boston with her newborn baby, Charlie. She hasn't bothered to tell Bryan, the father, about the baby because she has decided he wouldn't be good father material. Renata moves into the apartment next door to that of Eleanor, a widow and retired judge who has sold the family home at the request of her three children. Eleanor hires June, a young dance student, to clean house and run errands for her. Though June is a troubled recluse with an eating disorder, she and Eleanor soon become good friends. In time, at Eleanor's suggestion, June begins to baby-sit for Renata, and soon all their lives revolve around one another. A mishap involving the baby brings Bryan into the picture and leads to an interesting and satisfying conclusion. This lyrical novel of friendship and love is very readable and enjoyable. Recommended for all public libraries.?Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OhioCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistThe publisher claims that Matson will remind readers of Anne Tyler. Well, some things are too much to hope for, and for Matson, writing like Tyler would be one of them. In a novel driven by huge coincidences and medical mishaps, Matson follows the fortunes of three women: Renata, a waitress who breaks up with her boyfriend rather than tell him she is pregnant and eventually moves east with her infant son; Eleanor, an elegant 78-year-old former judge who is Renata's new neighbor; and June, an anorexic dance student who ends up working for both Eleanor and Renata. When the boyfriend doggedly tracks Renata down, she must share custody of baby Charlie, and she is tempted to run again, but medical emergencies involving her new friends force the couple to work things out. As a soaper, this story isn't bad, so readers who like their dramas on the sudsy side will no doubt enjoy this one. Matson's novel should appeal to the fans of tragedy queen Luanne Rice. Joanne Wilkinson