Family Value
The DiDonatos and Marshes of Cambridge, Mass., grapple with identity, love, and marriage in Nelson's facile fourth novel (Chickpea Lover ). Both families struggle to overcome professional and personal obstacles, and both have members who were adopted and either yearn to find their biological parents or profess no interest in them. It is a situation ripe for drama, but Nelson mistakes melodrama for plot, dropping a series of irrelevant obstacles in front of her interchangeable characters in place of a real narrative. As the novel progresses, the families' conflicts escalate at a hysterical pitch, converging rapidly and conveniently while the novel rushes toward a conclusion that relies almost exclusively on coincidence. This may work for fans of Nelson's previous novels or readers whose taste includes light, disposable reading. (Apr.)
