Floating

A desert romance between a spirited woman frustrated by the limits of her small town and a man who happens to be her brother-in-law marks the debut title in Penguin's new MTV imprint. First-time novelist Troy sets out in a straightforward, omniscient voice the conflict confronting Ruby Pearson one scorching summer's day when her husband, Carl, drunkenly robs a local 7-Eleven in their town of Whitticker, Ariz. (pop. 641). Ruby, who is fierce and tall and admired in the community, married Carl because he was an outsider whose curiosity ""stemmed from the places he had seen, rather than the place he had not."" Yet with their high-school romance soured from promises left undelivered, and their eight-year-old son, Brian, in need of a father, Ruby is ripe for the challenge when Sean, Carl's estranged younger brother, arrives at her doorstep to take care of Carl's cherished horse, Evelyn, while he is in jail. Troy rather obviously arranges all the usual components for a love story, and employs to uncertain effect the symbolic elements of earth, air, fire and water in order to add significance to Ruby and Sean's affair: Brian excels at swimming, unlike his wrangler father, and especially enjoys the act of floating; a fire raging out-of-control nearby sullies the air. The characters suffer soap opera emotions and horse opera conversations--expressing themselves not through words but through sex, flirting and drinking. Troy shows the most maturity and compassion as she decries the breakdown of the family and the dynamics of a small community. Yet many of the important strands of the story (Evelyn's foaling, Carl's state of mind upon returning) are handled in a cursory manner that ultimately drains this work of its energy and weight. (Sept.) FYI: MTV will also launch a short-story contest this fall, and will publish the winners in an anthology. Information on the contest will be included in Floating.