A novel in sonnet form, published in 1986, about several people in San Franciso and the area.
We meet John who works in armaments, and his college mate Phil who has given up his high-flying job for reasons of principle, after his wife has left him with their seven-year-old son. There's the Dorati family, wine growers in Sonoma County, and their three grown-up children, Liz the high-powered lawyer, Sue the international cellist, and Ed who is gay, but can't reconcile it with his Christianity.
Then another friend of all of these, Jan the sculptor with her two Siamese cats, Cuff and Link. The story covers love, gay and straight, friendships, families, birth and death and politics.
And California is another living character in the book - the city with its clubs , cafés and galleries, and in contrast, the natural and cultivated world, whales off the coast, gardens, the vineyard.
A brilliant book, easy to read, light in touch, and as sparkling as the San Francisco air.
As soon as I'd finsihed this one, I picked it up and started reading it again, and am enjoying the witty allusions to other poets too. Marvell, and Belloc for starters.
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