He Wants

Through spare prose and a simple story, Moore's second novel (her first, The Lighthouse, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize) examines aging, interrogates wanting, proposes changing, and succeeds in convincing the reader that old dogs can still be taught. Lewis Sullivan, an elderly widower, has settled into the routine of a man without much desire left. His wife, Edie, died in her sleep. His daughter, Ruth, visits him daily, bringing him soup he does not want but eats anyway, and he in turn visits his own old father in a nursing home once a week. This routine continues until Sydney Flynn, a friend Lewis hasn't seen since grade school, reappears and undermines the idea that doing things the way one has always done things is the only way to live. Writers of fiction are often advised to drive plot by first establishing what their protagonist wants. Moore plays with this concept by enumerating those desires in chapter titles, and then ensuring her characters never succeed in getting what they want. This playfulness and the sympathetic and surprising character of Lewis make this artful novel a delightful read. Agent: Nicholas Royle. (Mar.)