I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass

Kiwi sorbet. Fox hunting. Open-heart surgery on a bear. Only Julia Glass is skillful enough to blend these disparate elements into the same novel.

As in Three Junes and The Whole World Over, Glass relies on strong characters and the passage of time to propel the plot forward. In I See You Everywhere, Glass alternates the narrative voice between sisters Clem and Louisa. We are given updates on their careers (in science and art), lovers (fishermen and stuntmen), and health (wilderness injuries and cancer) over lapses of three years at first and then of three months as the novel comes to a close.

Despite the soap operatic elements of plot – amnesia from a yachting accident, unwanted pregnancies – the emotional elements remain believable. Parental grief is fueled by rage. Marital dissatisfaction is born from indifference. Sisterly love is expressed in inappropriate stabs at humor.

Sure Louisa may make kiwi sorbet, but she also eats brownies not quite done in the middle. The bear may end up on the operating table, but you’ll keep reading to ensure Clem doesn’t sleep with the surgeon.