Nude Walker

This first novel from Monk (Now You See It... Stories from Cokesville, PA) moves between the perspectives of several different residents of Warrenside, Pa., a former steel town in the throes of change. In 2004, on the trip home from Afghanistan, 25-year-old National Guardswoman Kat Warren-Bineki, the last of the Warrens who founded the town, dumps her longtime boyfriend for Max Asad, the beloved son of a Lebanese real estate magnate whose power is on the rise in Warrenside, just as Kat's family's is waning. Meanwhile, Wind Storm, the last of the Lenape tribe that originally lived in the area, struggles after her father's death with the decision to remain on the land or sell. When a mighty flood threatens the area, Kat's schizophrenic mother runs naked through downtown, setting off a disastrous string of events (fire! murder! more nudity!) that affects Warrenside and everyone who lives there. Though the narrative runs aground near the end, Monk's authority (she hails from Pennsylvania and served in the Army) and a winning mix of humor, mysticism, and sympathy for people adapting to a swiftly changing world make for an appealing tale. (Mar.)