The Woman Who Was Not All There

This amusing first novel is a slow starter as it chronicles several years in the lives of Marjorie LeBlanc and her four children--scrabbling along in their shabby house in Durham, N.C. But PW discovered that ``there's a good story here, and any flaws are those of a writer of obvious ability whose enthusiasm occasionally outweighs her judgment. With experience, Sharp should reveal first-rate talent.'' (Sept.)