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Summary
Summary
On the morning that Nina and Asher Teller's marriage falls apart in their Southern Californian kitchen, their young daughter, Hannah, is the victim of a hit-and-run accident that will leave her leg in a cast for much of the next decade. Nina's next husband introduces her to nudism and soon suggests they plunge further into the sexual revolution of the 1970s. Meanwhile, the remorseful driver, Martin, tries to bury his dark secret under the flashing lights and ringing bells of Las Vegas. The Nakeds is an absorbing, darkly comical story of love and desire.
Author Notes
Lisa Glatt is the author of the novel A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That and the short story collection The Apple's Bruise . Her poetry collections include Shelter and Monsters & Other Lovers . Lisa's work has appeared in such magazines as Zoetrope: All-Story , Gulf Coast , Mississippi Review , Indiana Review , Pearl , and The Sun . Lisa teaches at California State University, Long Beach and is married to writer David Hernandez.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
On a spring day in 1970, while Nina and Asher fight in their kitchen, hurling accusations and glassware at each other, their young daughter, Hannah, makes her way to first grade-walking on neighbor's lawns and dodging garbage cans, absorbed in her own thoughts-when a drunk driver slams into her. For nearly the next 10 years, Hannah endures life with a cast on her leg, feeling insecure and burdened by her broken limb. The dissolution of her parents' marriage, and the accident that leaves her encumbered with multiple casts that never seem to fix her leg, thrusts Hannah into young adulthood. With grace and maturity, Hannah learns to accept her once-Jewish father's new faith and wife (the woman who ultimately broke up her family), and her mother's newfound sexual freedom, nudist lifestyle, and young husband. Martin Kettle, the driver who left Hannah at the scene, continues through life troubled and guilt-ridden about his past. He believes his secret visits to the hospital to visit Hannah and drop off gifts while she sleeps are a form of atonement. Martin makes gradual progress in overcoming his demons and addictions, but will he ever admit full responsibility for what he's done and move on? Glatt's (A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That) well-developed characters and their intersecting stories leave the reader wondering what will happen next. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
The latest novel from the author of A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That (2004). Seven-year-old Hannah Teller is on her way to school when she's hit by a car. Martin Kettlejust out of high school, still drunk from the night beforeis the driver who injures Hannah and leaves her by the side of the road. Glatt follows the intertwined lives of these two characters as they deal with the accident's aftermath. As a little girl, Hannah is precocious and shy. While her intellectual curiosity persists, her reticence falls awaybit by bitas she grows into a teenager. But the series of casts she has to endure as doctor after doctor tries to help her walk again serves as a barrier between Hannah and the kids around her. She sees the world as divided between the normal and the damaged, and she wants desperately to resume her place among the normal. Unfortunately for Hannah, her leg isn't her only obstacle. Even by the standards of Southern California in the 1970s, her family isdifferent. Her father leaves her mother and Judaism for his mistress, evangelical Christianity, and surfing. Her mother marries a psychology student specializing in sexuality, which leads to weekends at a nudist colony. Hannah has a lot to navigateon crutchesand she does so with a mordant wit that makes her delightful company. Martin's story is sadder but not without its moments of comedy and gentle beauty. Immediately after the accident, he's paralyzed by guiltan emotional analog to Hannah's immobility. First, he tries to hide; then he tries to run. Ultimately, neither helps much. Throughout this novel, hope is as much a curse as it is a blessing, and in the end, Glatt doesn't shy away from this ambiguity. What she leaves her charactersand her readerswith is possibility. Funny, wise, and painfully honest. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Six-year-old Hannah Teller is the victim of a hit and run. When she finally leaves the hospital, her leg is in a cast, where it will remain for much of the following decade. Hanna's slow recovery takes place alongside her parents' quickly approaching divorce. Her mother, Nina, remarries a much younger man who introduces her to the sexual revolution. Hannah's father remarries a much younger woman who converts him to Christianity despite his Jewish upbringing. Hannah's life consists of bouncing back and forth between parents at war. Meanwhile, Martin, the driver of the car, lives in terror of being discovered and is deeply remorseful, spending much of his next decade trying to placate his guilt with drink and drugs. Glatt (A Girl Becomes a Comma like That, 2007) has written a powerfully absorbing novel that engages from start to finish. Her portrait of Southern California in the swinging seventies is so clearly drawn and her characters so real, it is easy to forget this is a work of fiction. A captivating read.--Gladstein, Carol Copyright 2015 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Glatt's (A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That) second novel is a beautifully written study of the intersection of two lives-seven-year-old Hannah, and Martin, the young man who hits her with his car while drunk one night and then flees the scene without coming to her aid. Hannah's injuries leave her leg in a series of casts for most of the next decade, while Martin's guilt over the accident drives him into deeper despair and addiction. Glatt has a remarkable ability to credibly illuminate the interior lives of these two wildly different characters, while drawing out themes of the body and the different ways shame is visited on these two individuals. Many of the novel's other characters also serve as lenses for exploring these themes, including Martin's anorexic sister, Hannah's epileptic, pot-smoking step-uncle, and her mother and stepfather, the nudists of the title. Verdict Cassandra Campbell moves back and forth between the various characters with aplomb, making this an engaging listen for fans of thoughtful literary fiction. ["Glatt creates characters whose choices change the dynamics of life as they know it, and her work will appeal to readers of general fiction ": LJ 5/15/15 review of the Regan Arts hc.]-Heather Malcolm, Bow, WA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.