As bestselling author of the critically acclaimed masterpiece, Ordinary People, Judith Guest knows the subtle rhythms of family life. With a perceptive eye that captures the nuanced relationships of husbands and wives, parents and children, and the constant tug-of-war of sibling rivalry, she creates remarkably real characters struggling with profound dilemmas. Now, in her luminous new novel, Errands, Guest once again gives us an unforgettable family that finds the fabric of their lives unraveling. North of Bay City, Michigan, past the small highway town of Au Gres, past acres of sugar beets and fields of grazing sheep, the Browner family enters the slow curve in the road that leads onto a view of Lake Huron. Keith, Annie, and their three children have rented the same cottage here every summer for the past six years. They know this place like the back of their station wagon. But a shadow has fallen over this particular trip: Keith is dying of cancer. It is a fate he has accepted. Annie however can not, will not. Once safe inside a happy seventeen-year marriage, Annie finds her entire world turned upside down after Keith's death. Her sister, Jess, does her best to comfort Annie, only to find the boundaries of their own close relationship stretched to its limits. Consumed with grief, mounting bills, everyday tasks that seem insurmountable, and three kids that have become nagging sources of frustration, Annie fails to see that the family is beginning to come apart. Thirteen-year-old Harry, the oldest, changes into a brooding teen, roaming the streets with a new rebellious friend; Julie, the youngest at nine, starts to lie about her whereabouts, but keeps a secret journal that reveals her true feelings; and Jimmy, sandwiched forever in the middle, can no longer take the pressure of being the peacemaker. As each child moves toward his or her own level of acceptance, a second threatening event will transform both the children and Annie, teaching them that, even with the loss of Keith, they are still a family--a different family, but one that is no less loving, real, and enduring than they had been with a father and husband in the house. Searing in its depiction of despair, warm in its evocation of family and the fragile ties that bind them, and tempered with gentle humor and dazzling wit, Errands is nothing less than a triumph. Judith Guest strikes at the very core of loss, and has written her most extraordinary novel to date. A MAIN SELECTION OF THE LITERARY GUILD(c) AN ALTERNATE SELECTION OF THE DOUBLEDAY BOOK CLUB(c) Judith Guest is an elegant writer capable of highlighting a moment and crystallizing a thought, effortlessly creating a powerful emotional story. Her modest yet moving style gained great exposure with the success of Ordinary People , her account of divorce amid family tragedy. Errands returns to themes of grief and the trials of family life. When Keith Browner succumbs to cancer, his wife Annie faces the challenges of supporting their teenage children while dealing with her own grief and loneliness. The qualities of Guest's style complement this story, which eschews sensationalism in order to describe authentic feelings and believable characters. YA. By using The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary's definition of the word "errand," Guest explains this title?"a journey made for a special purpose; an expedition; a mission." The protagonist, Annie Browner, embarks on such an errand. Her husband of 17 years dies of cancer and leaves her to raise and support their three children. Annie, consumed by grief, refuses all help and fails to see that her family is coming apart. The fine dialogue among the family members is one of the strengths of the novel. Many teens will identify with a single-parent home where coping with loss is difficult and painful. The book ends on a hopeful note?acceptance, love, and communication are key elements for healing.?Carol Clark, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. The author of Ordinary People (LJ 5/1/76) delivers a novel with similar promise and theme. This work, a selection of both the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club, deals with death in a family. Keith Browner, an engaging high school English teacher, the beloved husband of Annie, and adored father of 13-year-old Harry, 11-year-old Jimmie, and nine-year-old Julie, has incurable cancer. The reader learns enough about Keith to admire his humor and fortitude and to look forward to his presence and then he is suddenly, irretrievably gone. The author's timing and skill makes his loss and its aftermath searingly felt. Annie struggles to reenter the job market and to attend to the myriad details of running a home. The children, in an effort to regain control of life and their mother's attention, act up in alarming ways. True, touching, and highly recommended for all fiction collections.?Sheila M. Riley, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, D.C. Copyri