The Boys of My Youth

Rarely does the debut of a new writer garner such attention & acclaim. The excitement began the moment "The Fourth State of Matter," one of the fourteen extraordinary personal narratives in this book, appeared in the pages of *The New Yorker*. It increased when the author received a prestigious Whiting Foundation Award in November 1997, & it continued as the hardcover edition of *The Boys of My Youth* sold out its first printing even before publication. The author writes with perfect pitch as she takes us through one woman's life -- from childhood to marriage & beyond -- & memorably captures the collision of youthful longing & the hard intransigences of time & fate.