The Romance Reader’s Guide to Life

In this understated blend of several genres, Pywell (What Happened to Henry) explores the relationship between love and power against the backdrop of mid-20th-century America. As sisters Lilly and Neave grow up during an era changed and defined by WWII and its lingering aftereffects, they struggle with what it means to be women with varying degrees of freedom and opportunity, ultimately establishing a flourishing cosmetics business. But when Lilly runs afoul of her increasingly abusive, possibly homicidal husband and vanishes, Neave has to carry on in her absence, aided only by a pair of ghosts. The narrative is interspersed with extracts from Neave’s favorite trashy pirate love story, whose events parallel her own experiences. This tale comes off as a fondly tongue-in-cheek commentary on the influence of romances on societal expectations, but it never quite reconciles its disparate elements. This is simultaneously the leisurely coming-of-age of two sisters, a bodice-ripper pastiche, and a psychological thriller that never truly embraces its romantic aspects. (Apr.)