The Object Parade

In this pleasant if meandering essay collection, actress and writer Lenney (Bigger Than Life) meditates on dozens of memorable physical objects from her life: her grandfather’s Steinway; a pair of her mother’s earrings; the plastic scoops found in old tins of Chock Full o’ Nuts coffee, and others. Much of the collection revolves around family, specifically the author’s husband, children, and mother; the results are charming but repetitive in their patterns of ambiguous melancholy and joy, as one essay fades into the next. However, the book offers a few heart-stopping standouts, particularly “Stick Kite” and “Nests,” which go to a deeper level of emotion and truth. The former, a two-page monologue to Lenney’s daughter as a child flying a kite, is intimate and vivid, while the latter is a spare, beautiful weaving of her sister’s troubled life and the families of doves that sing outside of the author’s bedroom. The book is most successful when the author focuses more on the people in front of her and lays scenes and emotions bare, as opposed to indulging in the grand-mystery-of-life thoughts that permeate some of the weaker essays. Still, this creatively structured book remains an enjoyable read, and the standout essays merit the price of admission. (Apr.)