BROOKLAND

Emily Barton's second novel is a rich period piece set in Brooklyn just after the Revolution. Prue Winship and her sisters find themselves in charge of the family distillery and are entirely up to the challenge, even in this very male world. Ruth Ann Phimister's challenge is making Prue's family and their times familiar and vivid, and she does it with ease, partly because Barton herself weaves her learning so imaginatively into her tale, and partly because Phimister is so skillful at evoking personality. Prue becomes obsessed with a plan to bridge the East River; to succeed she must engage her whole village, as well as Manhattan, across the water, and a good bit of Albany. It's a moving and memorable journey. B.G. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 06/ JAN 07]