BOOKS: FIREFLY LANE by Kristin Hannah

"A satisfying journey..."

FIREFLY LANE
by Kristin Hannah
(St. Martin's Press, 2008)

Hardcover, 480 pgs, $23.95 U.S.

As summer beach reads go, FIREFLY LANE is kind of daunting from the get-go, at 480 pages. About two inches thick, I don't know how much it weighs, but it's certainly not your typical beach bag book, at least in hard-cover. Don't let that stop you, as this is a wonderful coming-of-age novel to which many of us thirty- and forty-somethings will relate with nostalgia, especially if you are from the Seattle/Pacific Northwest area (like me!).

FIREFLY LANE is about friendship: "Guys would come and go; girlfriends were forever."
(page 120). Kate and Tallulah (Tully) find each other in the awkward, lonely summer between 8th grade and high school. When Tully and her wayward mother land across the street from Kate's tight-knit, Cleaver-ish family, the two girls are drawn to each other, as opposites attract, and quickly become BFF.

The story follows their lives and friendship for the next 30 years, from 1974 through high school, college, the early career and dating years, marriage, children and beyond. While they begin power careers together in TV news and broadcast journalism out of college (University of Washington, of course), Kate ultimately falls in love, settles down with her Prince and becomes a stay-at-home Mom on Bainbridge Island, Washington (shout out to the Spartans!), leaving Tully to blaze trails and achieve stunning Oprah-like success in New York, and when she triumphantly returns to Seattle.

Kate and Tully's disparate paths lead to a deft examination of women's choices and the road not taken, with Tully's inevitable bittersweet realization of the sacrifices of the ultra-successful career woman, highlighted by her best friend's quieter success and apparent contentment as a stay-at-home mom. However, as we all know, it's not that simple for the wife and mother, either, as we see Kate's inner turmoil over the day-to-day monotony and challenges of life at home, in comparison to the glamour of Tully's fabulous life.

In a Forrest Gump-ish journey through the 70s, 80s and 90s, author Kristin Hannah masterfully interweaves the social milieu of three decades in her characters' lives, down to the music (ABBA, Carole King, Elton John and Kenny G), the fashions (shoulder pads, stirrup pants, big hair and scrunchies) and the emergence of new cultural touchstones, including Starbucks, Microsoft, the Internet and iPods.

All in all, even with a surprise ending we don't see coming until page 439 (uh oh), FIREFLY LANE is a satisfying journey, well worth hefting the book around for a week or two!