Product Description

Annie Rush has it all. A loving husband, adoring sons, an interesting job. But tragedy haunts her. Her identical twin sister died in a horrifying farm accident when the girls were nine years old, and in the wake of the grief and guilt that followed, her older brother left home for good. The death of her mother prompts Annie to seek her brother and revisit her long-lost past. Her search takes her to Oaxaca, where her brother was last seen, during the vibrant Christmas celebrations and the colorful Night of the Radishes festival; and ultimately, deep within herself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #945971 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-18
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .77" h x 5.12" w x 8.00" l, .52 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Set in Minnesota and Mexico, Benitez's engrossing fourth novel recounts the journey of a responsible daughter who travels south to search for her long-lost brother. Thirty-four-year-old Annie Hart Rush is living a mundane life in Minneapolis until her mother's death leaves her $1 million and, far more interestingly, a journal written on her deathbed that forces Annie to rethink her past. She learns that her brother, Hub, who ran away from home at 17, had been sending postcards to her mother all the while that Annie thought he'd disappeared, and she flies to Oaxaca to track him down. After a rough beginning, the novel finds its stride, rewarding persistent readers with a suspenseful plot and well-developed characters. Benitez does a great job of capturing landscapes, both north and south of the border, and she crafts a convincing voice for the mother's journal, which appears in excerpts throughout the book. Fans of the author's previous novels (A Place Where the Sea Remembers; Bitter Grounds, etc.) will appreciate her detailed descriptions of Annie's emotional growth-much of which happens during the intimate conversations she has with a Berkeley professor who's staying at her hotel (while Annie's husband is at home taking care of the kids). Thanks to Benitez's superb, lyrical writing, this evocative novel manages suspense without sacrificing beautiful prose.
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From Booklist
As comforting and predictable as a box of caramels, Benitez's gentle romance is all about reassurance and wish fulfillment. Annie buries her mother and leaves her stalwart spouse and fine young sons at home in Minneapolis at Christmastime to go to Oaxaca in search of her brother. He had disappeared in the wake of family tragedy: the accidental death of Maggie, Annie's twin, at age nine and their dad's later suicide. Oaxaca is vividly evoked, down to the radish folk sculptures of the title. A strong, gentle man nursing his own tragic memories helps Annie find and release her rage and hurt. She does the same for him, in the most guilt-free vision of a one-night stand imaginable. A family reunion, new babies, the evaporation of money worries, and a lover who obligingly vanishes wrap up a sweet and slightly gooey ending. GraceAnne DeCandido
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