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"Cavedweller"
by Dorothy Allison
Dutton, $24.95

April 1, 1998
Web posted at: 3:02 p.m. EDT (1502 GMT)

(Entertainment Weekly) -- A sprawling, bighearted, Southern-fried slab of family drama by the author of Bastard Out of Carolina, Dorothy Allison's second novel is one of reconciliation. Rock singer Delia Byrd leaves Hollywood for Georgia, returning to the children she abandoned 10 years ago.

Delia reclaims her girls by agreeing to nurse her terminally ill ex-husband on his deathbed in exchange for custody. Her eldest is a finger-wagging Christian, her middle child a gun-wielding ruffian, and her youngest, a budding lesbian "cavedweller" who loves spelunking.

Although Delia's daughters ultimately forgive her betrayal, Allison's readers may not: Walking away from an abusive husband is one thing; leaving your children in his hands is another. This narrative oversight casts a shadow over an otherwise charming, if sometimes meandering, book.Ê

Grade: B
-- Margot Mifflin

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