Mona Simpson

"The story of a family whose single mom, fighting mental illness, slowly becomes unable to raise her family, told from the perspective of each of the three children. As the novel opens, a mother drives her eldest son Walter from their home in Los Angeles to the University of California at Berkeley. It will be her last fully responsible act before breaking down completely and being committed to a mental hospital, leaving her children behind. Holding...

Adele is a flashy, flirtatious dreamer. Her daughter Ann is a quiet, no-nonsense realist. On the surface, they're like oil and water, but deep down, they are two of a kind.