Hawkins' third novel is a beautiful evocation of a death at midlife--at once elegant, melancholy and wise. With shades of Mrs. Dalloway, much of the novel takes place in a day, as Lydia prepares for her annual winter party. The same group of women has been coming for years (except Norris, who makes barely plausible excuses), and Lydia worries over the usual: the food, the wine, the weather. But this will be her last party; she's just been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and has but a few weeks to live. She struggles over a letter she plans to give each friend after dinner; a letter she writes and edits and is dissatisfied with because how can you explain all the disappointments of a lifetime in an uplifting farewell? She teaches art at a community college in the suburbs of Chicago, but really she wanted Norris' life. Years ago, Lydia and Norris were colleagues, but thanks to Lydia's mentorship (and, admittedly, Norris' own icy determination), Norris has become a world-renowned painter while Lydia gave up long ago. And Lydia had men, too many of the wrong kind. And she had fears of making the wrong choices and so made too few important ones. And now she knows it is too late for anything; there is no more time to be the person she imagined. As she prepares for the party, her guests get ready as well: Elaine is bitter and alone and spreads acrimony like ruined pixie dust; still beautiful Maura loses herself in reveries of Roy, the married man she devoted her life to for a once-a-week "date"; Celia is married with a teenage son but is perpetually surprised that family life is so tedious. And then there is Norris, whom everybody hates but Lydia, and even Lydia hates her a little bit, too. Hawkins smartly continues the novel after the party, after Lydia's death, after Norris begins a grand portrait series of the women, and the plot takes a number of unexpected, hugely enjoyable turns. It is this kind of book: the kind one buys extra copies of to pass out to friends.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Hawkins (A Year of Cats and Dogs) sets a sumptuous table for a last supper like no other: a repast that's alternately uncomfortable and soothing, weepy and jubilant, evocative and realistic. Party host and art teacher Lydia is having her annual dinner for her women friends-Elaine, Celia, Maura, Jayne, Betsy. This year she's also invited Norris, a former teaching colleague who's become a successful artist. But a howling Chicago blizzard will turn their boozy dinner into a raucous slumber party, where Lydia confesses she's dying of cancer and reveals her secret fears and nagging regrets. "My life is a heap of remnants," she laments. Norris is with Lydia in her final moments, and he also witnesses the death of her dog, Maxine, who dies an hour after her adored mistress. With Lydia's passing, egotistical Norris, best friend Celia, and old friend and spurned lover Ted face their fears and regrets. And in a quirky, impossibly magical and sweetly charming twist, Lydia helps guide them all to forgiveness. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Lydia, an art teacher at a godforsaken suburban community college, is preparing for her annual, women-only dispel-the-­midwinter-blues party and worrying about how to break her bad news to her friends. They're quite the group. Lydia believes that ruthlessly ambitious Norris, an internationally successful artist, is in a serious rut. Librarian Celia is finding life with her husband and son claustrophobic. Elaine has a Hillary fixation, and Maura is at loose ends after the death of her married lover. Hawkins' third smart, crackling novel (after A Year of Cats and Dogs, 2009, and How to Survive a Natural Disaster, 2010) is a snowy, midwestern Mrs. Dalloway, with Elizabeth Berg-ish charm and Hawkins' own edgy, artfully particularized humor. Standout moments include Lydia introducing her students to Ivan Albright's unnerving paintings of female beauty gone to ruin and her contrasting of her perfect nieces, Amazons of privilege, with the struggling single mothers and veterans in her classes. As Lydia and her circle pull together in her time of need, Hawkins considers the profound gift of friendship and the ways art and life converge to forge meaning and preserve truth and memories.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2010 Booklist

Hawkins (A Year of Cats and Dogs; How To Survive a Natural Disaster) celebrates the bonds of female friendship at the midpoint of life as well as the private sentiments of seven women who come together annually for Lydia's party. This year, however, Lydia has some news that will alter their relationships and change things rather dramatically. Before the guests convene for the evening, each woman is portrayed in the crux of her daily life and is caught reflecting upon moments she has experienced-disappointments, regrets, mistakes, and deeper desires. Although Lydia's friends are dissatisfied with the way their lives have turned out, it doesn't mean that they can't act as agents of change for themselves and set things in a different direction. Maybe with a little guidance from Lydia, they can find a more fulfilling place, if they are willing to listen. VERDICT This is an uncomplicated read that skims the surface of heady topics but doesn't take the full plunge. Although Hawkins's protagonists are well drawn and interesting, more exposure to each of them would have helped readers understand their motives better.-Anne M. Miskewitch, Chicago P.L. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.