Cost - roxana robinson

In this luminous and gripping new novel, Robinson tackles addiction and explores its effects on the bonds of family, dazzling readers with her subtlety and precision in evoking the emotional interiors of her characters.

Julia Lambert, an artist, is spending the summer in her old Maine farmhouse.

During a visit from her elderly parents, she hopes to mend complicated relationships with her domineering father, a retired neurosurgeon, and her gentle mother, who is descending into the fog of Alzheimers.

But a shattering revelation intrudes: Julias son, Jack, has spiraled into heroin addiction.

In her attempts to save him, Julia marshals help from her loosely knit clan, but Jacks addiction courses through the family with a devastating energy, sweeping them all into a world of confusion, fear, and obsession.

In Cost , Roxana Robinson applies her trademark gifts as an intelligent, sensitive analyst of family life and creates a warmly human and deeply satisfying book, marking a new level of ambition and achievement for this talented author ( Chicago Tribune ).