Review - The Fiction Class by Susan Breen

The Fiction Class
Susan Breen
Plume
ISBN # 978-0452289109

"On paper, Arabella Hicks seems more than qualified to teach her fiction class on the Upper West Side: she’s a writer herself; she’s passionate about books; she’s even named after the heroine in a Georgette Heyer novel.

On the other hand, she’s thirty-eight, single, and has been writing the same book for the last seven years. And she has been distracted recently: on the same day that Arabella teaches her class she also visits her mother in a nursing home outside the city. And every time they argue. Arabella wants the fighting to stop, but, as her mother puts it, “Just because we’re family, doesn’t mean we have to like each other.” When her class takes a surprising turn and her lessons start to spill over into her weekly visits, she suddenly finds she might be holding the key to her mother’s love and, dare she say it, her own inspiration. After all, as a lifelong lover of books, she knows the power of a good story."

The Fiction Class is the story of a woman still growing up. Arabella struggles with her self-image, her writing aspirations and taking care of her elderly mother. While teaching a writing class, she learns a few lessons herself - about life, love and the written word.

Susan Breen has written a beautiful and inspiring story with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. Read it! There are so many layers to this book, you'll find something that touches you or inspires you.
(February 26, 2008, pp 304, $14.00)