Places to Stay the Night

Although often poignant and compelling, this novel of physical relocation and romantic musical chairs by the author of Something Blue is ultimately a promise unfulfilled. Libby Harper, disappointed with life in small-town Holly, Mass., heads out for the perceived possibilities of L.A., leaving her husband, Tom, and their teenage children, Dana and Troy. At the same time, Libby's high school classmate, Renata Handy, who had moved to Manhattan with equally big dreams, returns home to the healthier, more ``normal'' Holly when her eight-year-old daughter Millie is diagnosed with a brain tumor. In a flurry of indiscriminate and often mindless sex, Libby lands a part in a floor-wax commercial, Renata lands Tom, and Dana, in her own quest for something better, lands one night-stands with much of the male student body of nearby Williams College. At their best, Hood's descriptions of people and moods are right on target: a whiff of scent, a song, even a brand name prompts instant recognition. Many elements, however, ring false. Millie, for example, seems far too precocious (even for a New Yorker), and the wordplay is egregious (Libby, whose maiden name is Holliday, leaves Holly for Hollywood; her married name is Harper and she takes up with the husband of a harpist). While Hood's characters and situations have great potential to speak directly of love, discontent, compromise and belonging, their message is garbled. Literary Guild selection. (Feb.)