Wednesday, September 05, 2007

By TARESSA STOVALL
of The Montclair Times

As a Montclair mother of three, critically-acclaimed novelist Christina Baker Kline doesn’t have much time for daydreaming about a less hectic existence. But that hasn’t stopped her from concocting an enticing tale of love, o “The Way Life Should Be” (William Morrow, 2007), in which the serene coast of Maine is as engaging as the main character’s love interest.

A “recipe” for the book sums it up cutely:

Mix together

1 big-city woman dreaming of Maine

1 crazy fire eater

1 blue-eyed sailing instructor

1 spur-of-the-moment decision

Heat with

1 tiny island shack

4 unconventional cooking classes

6 strangers ready to spill their secrets

Throw in 18 original recipes and stir till boiling.

Baker, who divides her time between Montclair and the coast of Maine, said she wanted to explore the possibilities of life “outside our everyday boxes and comfort zones.”

With her protagonist, Angela Russo, Baker delights in exploring what happens when a woman says yes to some deep, yet undefined inner yearning. Acting on impulse, Angela drops her high-pressured Manhattan career to rebuild her life from the ground up. She has no particular goal, no agenda and no direction. What Angela does discover, along with her deep-seated passion for Italian cooking, is a fresh definition of self that links her family history to the possibilities of a future she had longed for without knowing what it was.

Kline, author of the novels “Sweet Water” and “Desire Lines,” is Writer in Residence at Fordham University. Teaching is one source of inspiration, she said, adding that she enjoys the intellectual challenges of the classroom. That, combined with a hefty dose of “mommy brain” and stolen moments of literary exploration, are a winning mix for an author who may not have much time to put her feet up and become lost in misty daydreams, but has given readers a ticket to treat themselves to just such a tasty pause.

If you go

Christina Baker Kline will read from and discuss “The Way Life Should Be” Saturday, Sept. 8, 4 p.m., in Watchung Booksellers, 54 Fairfield St., in Watchung Plaza.



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