cover image Choral Society

Choral Society

Prue Leith, . . St. Martin's/Dunne, $24.95 (313pp) ISBN 978-0-312-56078-2

Three Notting Hill 50-somethings meet in a choral class and join together to overcome the vicissitudes of midlife in Leith's tribute to friendship. Lucy is a still-grieving widow and food writer who's just lost her newspaper column to a celebrity hotshot. Rebecca is a posh single with a trail of breakups behind her. Joanna works for a venture capital firm and is hungry for something exciting to happen to her. Nelson, their choral director, embarks on an affair with Rebecca as the three form strong bonds that will see them through a pivotal time of changes. Joanna falls in love and discovers mixing business with pleasure can be troublesome; Lucy finds a new lust for life after Rebecca gives her a makeover, and her shot at teaching a food-writing class could lead to bigger developments yet. Leith, a popular British food writer, depicts these smart coming-of-middle-age denizens with wisdom, humor and a dollop of realistic angst. (May)