Drives Like a Dream

The New York Times called Porter Shrevesfirst novel The Obituary Writer an involving and sneakily touching story whose twists feel less like the conventions of a genre than the convolutions of a heartany heart. Newsday hailed the book as a substantial achievement and Tim O''Brien described it as taut compelling and moving . . . beautifully written engrossing from start to finish. Shining with the same heart and humor Shreves second novel Drives Like a Dream is a smart wry tale about a modern-day mother in the midst of a lifestyle crisisand her outlandish attempts to get her family back.. Lydia Modine is sixty-one and about to come undone. Her three grown-up children have flown the coop. She hasnt seen them together in more than a year and now her ex-husband is about to remarry a woman half his age. And the insults keep coming: Lydia is stuck on a book shes writing about Detroits car industry which uncannily parallels her own life out with the old model in with the new. She''s poured her soul into her family only to be abandoned in the City of Dream Machines. But then a twist of fate introduces her to Norm an eco-car fanatic out to remake her and the world. Is he the answer to all of her problems or does he hold the one secret that just might get her children back to Detroit home for good?. A warm funny and affecting novel that''s sure to appeal to anyone who has longed for an alternate life Drives Like a Dream confirms that sometimes when you set out for a spin the twists and turns can be perfectly rewardingand right.