ARIA

Isn't celebrity born out of tragedy always less desirable than that resulting from achievement? Segal's exceptional debut suggests that fame—wanted or not—takes its toll no matter how it is acquired. Eve Miller is the lone survivor of a shipwreck. Her adventurous husband, Charlie, had convinced her to take their young children, Nick and Jessica, sailing around the world. All went well until a mystery vessel struck their yacht, and her family was swept away by the sea, one by one, until only she remained. When Eve wakes up in an Australian hospital, she berates herself for having the will to survive, for clinging to the lifeboat when she had three very good reasons to let herself slip into the sea, too. During her physical rehabilitation, her worried mother and sister desperately wish to bring her home to California, and hospital employees try to shield her from the media. Meanwhile, aging opera diva Isabel Stein, who is on tour down under, and her savvy agent-husband, Leo, offer Eve a haven in their guest cottage on a secluded estate outside of New York City. Overwhelmed by guilt, paparazzi and bags of well-intentioned "fan" mail, Eve overlooks her suspicions of the Steins' generosity and accepts their invitation. She grows to trust her hosts and develops a friendship with their other temporary houseguest, young composer Noah Stewart, who is writing an opera for Isabel, but her sanctuary is short-lived. With razor-sharp insight and adroit imagery, Segal masterfully builds layers of tension by methodically exposing her tragically flawed characters' true motives. Most compelling is Eve's dynamic narration, initially pianissimo and controlled, crescendoing to a climactic forte. 3-city author tour. (Sept.)

Correction:Embers (Forecasts, Aug. 13) was translated from the German, not the Hungarian, by Carol Brown Janeway.