For three hundred years, when a Sparrow girl reaches thirteen years of age, she receives her "gift", which at times may seem like more of a curse. The first Sparrow girl, Rebecca, received the gift of being unable to feel pain, which ultimately led to her being tortured and weighted down by rocks before being thrown in a lake to drown. In the years to follow, among others, there is a Sparrow woman who can turn nearly anything into a delicious meal, one who can take away a woman's pain during childbirth, and one who can hold her breath under water for unbelievable lengths of time--all talents that made the Sparrows stand out in the small town of Unity. Since Rebecca was murdered by the townspeople so long ago, the townspeople have treated the Sparrows with awe and fear, with legends regarding the family home, known as Cake House, and surrounding property as being cursed and haunted. Jenny Sparrow, who received the gift of being able to see other's dreams, has a difficult relationship with her cold and distant mother Elinor, who is able to smell a lie. As a teenager, Jenny falls in love with the town rebel Will Avery (whom Elinor hates due to the fact that he is a lying scoundrel) and runs away with him to Boston, hoping to forget her family history and life in her small town in order to start fresh. Life doesn't turn out as she plans, however, and after Jenny's marriage inevitably fails, all she has left is her beloved daughter Stella, who acts like she despises her most of the time. When Stella turns thirteen, she receives her Sparrow woman gift and becomes able to foresee others' deaths. Circumstances soon force Jenny and Stella to return to Cake House with Elinor, where family secrets refuse to remain buried and love is not a lost cause.The Probable Future is written so beautifully and descriptively that I swear I could see, hear, smell, and taste every scene. It depicts the often complicated relationships found between mothers and daughters and features multiple lessons about forgiveness and second chances at life and love.
This was a book I just stumbled upon in the library. I was looking for a book read by Susan Ericksen, my favorite female reader. I wasn't sure whether I would like it because it took over half of the first disc to get to any dialog. But I soon got caught up in the lives of the people of Unity. This has some paranormal fantasy, but it is primarily about relationships between mother and daughter, wive and husband, lost and found loves, redemption and forgiveness. There is also a killer in this novel, adding some action to the ending. The end had some sorrow, but mostly I felt joy and closure, and it left me satisfied, although I wish it had gone on just a little longer. Even after I had finished and set it aside, it stuck with me and in a good way. I gave it 4 stars only because it was a little wordy at times, and could get confusing for just a moment as the writer switched from real time to the flashback thoughts of the same or even other characters. But as the book went on, I came to realize that some the lengthy descriptions added to the depth of the characters, highlighting their motivations and backgrounds, and to the telling of the overall story. I had to laugh as the teenage daughter gave her mother a bad time, despite the mother's intense love and protectiveness of her child. I can really relate to that one. But Stella, the teenager, was not painted as an ungrateful nasty child. She was given her own depth and positive attributes were included for her, as well as most of the other characters. There were so many elements that made this story interesting and unique. I would recommend it to anyone who likes in-depth characters and a touch of whimsy and those who like books with a message. This was a good one.
What do You think about The Probable Future (2004)?
Alice Hoffman used to be one of my favorite writers. This book has all the trappings of a Hoffman novel, strong eccentric women, possible magic, unpredictable weather, liars and con men, flowers, food, frogs, bees, superstition, and above all love. A sentence like the following can only be found in a Hoffman novel: "The air was soft and damp, fishy in the way March air can be, clinging to clothes and urging the buds of the magnolias to open."Nobody describes first love the way Hoffman does: "Had he always been so dumb in Jenny's presence, startled into stupidity?" or "Kissing until the stone beneath them got so hot that mosquitoes lighting on the granite burst into flames in an instant." (I have experienced this many times myself.)Still, this book was only average for me. I'm not sure if Hoffman has changed, or if I have, but I suspect at least some of the latter. Take the first quote above about the air. I think when I was younger it would have been somehow magical to read. Now it just seems affected. Or maybe the problem was with the book. Not much really happens, there is little suspense, and the characters aren't particularly interesting. Still, the scene where Matt meets Jenny in the town square was almost worth reading the entire book. I may no longer find magic in fishy air, but I think I'll always find magic in the love of a man for a woman.
—Mike
I hate to admit this because I really am a fan, but Alice Hoffman is rather formulaic. So, if you've read other Hoffman books and liked them, you'll probably like this one too.I do feel obligated to point out that henna doesn't work like a commercial hair dye. As a general rule, you can't get hair the color of a stop light by using it. Nor can you decide at 4:30 that you'd like to dye your hair and be finished and presentable for a dinner party that night.I've seen this error in several books - all published in the late 1990s/early 2000s. It makes me wonder what sort of misinformation was circulating about henna at the time. (Or possibly there was a glut of fake henna products on the market, perhaps?) I'm sure it resulted in a lot of disappointed would-be redheads!
—Melanti
Honestly, this book was one of the best depictions of mother-daughter relationships I've ever read. I felt for both mother and child in it, I could see both sides and where both were coming from - yet unlike other novels, I saw no clear way to fix it, because there was no clear way to fix things. It was kind of heartbreaking to read, because I saw my own relationship with my mom in Hoffman's words.The only downside to the plot was Stella's relationship with the football player. It seemed awkward and out of place - I applaud Hoffman for taking a risk, putting the heroine with the character who wouldn't necessarily be called the "hero" of the younger cast, but her execution could've used some smoothing over.Other than that, it was a very good novel. A very typical Hoffman novel - she uses supernatural elements to define the relationships between her female characters. It takes after Practical Magic in the way that the women's abilities are passed down through the family line, but the circumstances and characters are different enough so that you can firmly separate the two novels in your head.
—Meagan
