News Sun, 12 Nov 2006 10:23:43 CST Vu

Tales with twists of fate and family ties
By Diane White | November 12, 2006

(excerpt)

THE HALF LIFE OF STARS (Book) (Oct 2006)

"Can a single event, a simple twist of fate, dictate the way we go on to live our lives?" wonders Claire, the central character in Louise Wener's lovely, offbeat fourth novel, "The Half Life of Stars." In her brother Daniel's case, the answer may be yes. But the event in question was no simple twist of fate. When Daniel, a lawyer, disappears, leaving his wife and children behind, everyone has a theory . He's been kidnapped. He's intentionally dropped out, with the help of a mysterious Japanese organization. He's run off with another woman. But Claire is the only one with a notion of where he may have gone, and why.

Claire is an appealing narrator. She's divorced, sexy, irreverent, imaginative, probably the sanest member of a family held together by a net of lies. With her ex-husband, Michael, Claire searches for Daniel in Florida, where the family spent several unhappy years. Their father died of a heart attack on a trip to Cape Canaveral. Daniel, then a teenager, was with him. Claire has an idea that there may be some connection between her father's death and her brother's disappearance. Wener, the lead singer of the 1990s British band Sleeper, is at her best when she's exploring family relationships.